Cardiovascular Health: How Conventional Wisdom is Failing Us

by Jay N. Cohn

We all think we are well-informed about cardiovascular health. But is what we think we know really accurate? Here, a renowned cardiologist describes the biological processes leading to heart and blood vessel disease. He challenges the conventional view that risk factors, poor diet, and lack of exercise are the biggest culprits. Each of these widely-described risk factors is individually discussed and Dr. Cohn concludes that their role in affecting cardiovascular health is often overstated. He promotes a greater emphasis on an individual’s personal and largely inherited cardiovascular health by simple assessment of the function and structure of the arteries and heart. By identifying early disease likely to progress he advocates for early intervention, often with drug therapy, to slow disease progression and prevent symptoms of cardiovascular disease.

ThroHe concludes that health care providers can better treat patients with medications that slow the biological processes that contribute to the development of artery and heart disease. These medications lower blood pressure and cholesterol, but their main effect is to slow progression of disease even in those whose blood pressure and cholesterol levels are not elevated. He describes a strategy for identifying and treating these early abnormalities before symptoms develop. Ultimately, early diagnosis and treatment, he argues, can contribute to better prevention and the slowing of cardiovascular disease progression that would otherwise shorten our lives.

188 pages, Hardcover

Published May 5, 2017

Reviews

[Phoenix · Rating 2 out of 5]

I found the book to be okay, very focused on the medications. I do find it enjoyable to see how other people view things and this filled that really well.

I don't particularly agree with his view of taking medications to combat issues like that, as i am currently in the process of trying to heal my cardiovascular health, and have noticed a tremendous difference in all the testing i have been undergoing.

I do agree that medications are useful and do help with many things, I Just don't agree with his view that eating better and working out and taking care of yourself don't have that high of an affect, that it is secondary. it was an interesting read though.

[One · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found the book to be interesting. The author really believes that genetics are the main culprit in cardiovascular disease, and that our lifestyle choices play a very minor role in helping to speed up or slow down the disease progression. He is a big believer in using prescription medications to help mitigate risks of the disease. He ends the book by telling readers to eat a steak, drink some wine, and take medications. I'm not so sure I agree with all of his advice, but I still thought it was interesting to get his take on the topic.