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Restart Your Heart: The Playbook for Thriving with AFib

Aseem Desai

4.64 · Rating details · 39 ratings · 15 reviews

Amazon Best Seller in Heart Disease

Compelling, expert advice on how to live fearlessly with atrial fibrillation

AFib patients, their family, friends, and caregivers are often misinformed about the latest research, advancements, and treatments. In this life-changing book, renowned cardiac electrophysiologist Dr. Aseem Desai diminishes the worry and confusion that come wit ...more

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Hardcover, 240 pages

Published September 1st 2020 by Greenleaf Book Group Press

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Aug 13, 2020 Randal White rated it it was amazing

Shelves: netgalley, psych-religion-self-help, favorites

Talk about timely! I was lucky enough to receive an advance copy of this book from NetGalley. Lucky because I have suffered with atrial fibrillation (a-fib) for over 40 years. So here goes a rather long review.
Early in my life, I never knew what a-fib was. I only knew that, at times, my heart would begin to race and skip, and it felt like I was having a heart attack. I best described it as "the little man on my chest jumping up and down". Several times I went to the hospital, but by the time I Talk about timely! I was lucky enough to receive an advance copy of this book from NetGalley. Lucky because I have suffered with atrial fibrillation (a-fib) for over 40 years. So here goes a rather long review.
Early in my life, I never knew what a-fib was. I only knew that, at times, my heart would begin to race and skip, and it felt like I was having a heart attack. I best described it as "the little man on my chest jumping up and down". Several times I went to the hospital, but by the time I was seen the a-fib episode was over. Due to a high stress career in law enforcement, the doctors assumed the attacks were caused by stress/depression/anxiety. So they prescribed medications to help. I swear, I have probably tried every prescription for depression/anxiety med known to man. I really wasn't depressed, but I assumed the doctors knew best, so I took them. Some had horrible side effects. But I would go six months to a year or more with no attacks, so everyone assumed I was fixed. Then another attack would occur, and they would switch the med to the "latest and greatest'.
On and on until a period of time in 2013, when I was having another episode. I just assumed it was business as usual. Only this time, it resulted in a massive stroke! I was paralyzed on the left side for an extended period. Doctors couldn't figure out why I had the stroke. My blood pressure and cholesterol level were great. I was in great shape physically. They did every test known to man, and came back normal.
One day, several months later, I was having another episode. I was really scared this time, not wanting another stroke. I went to the ER, where I was treated by a wonderful young doctor. She suggested wearing a Holter monitor for a couple of days, to monitor my heart. She then referred me to a cardiologist. The cardiologist (my hero) then put me on an extended monitoring device that I wore for a couple of weeks. The cardiologist called and asked me to come in. He told me, "Good news! We now know what caused your stroke!" You have a-fib. And we can treat it!" So I went on a blood thinner, and a medication to control my heart beat. And everything was great. Life was good. For the first time in many years.
Then, in late 2019, the a-fib returned. And lasted. On and on. For months. My cardiologist performed a cardio-version. Basically, they shock your heart back into rhythm. Which it did. And he suggested that I get a procedure called "ablation". Where they kill off some of the nerves to your heart that are causing the a-fib. So it was scheduled. And I tried reading everything I could on the subject. There sure is a lot of confusing information out there!
A couple of weeks before the procedure (which had been postponed several times because of the coronavirus), I was sent this book. Talk about a gift from God!
I was able to read EXACTLY what the surgery was going to do. I was able to have an intelligent conversation with the surgeon about the operation. He seemed surprised that I knew so much about it, so I showed him my copy of the book. He looked through it, said it was an excellent source, and was going to recommend it to his patients. How's that for an expert opinion on the worthiness of the book!
Anyway, the surgery went fine. I'm recovered. And at peace. Finally!
THIS IS THE BOOK THAT I WISH I FOUND YEARS AGO!!!! It's loaded with information. It describes everything you could possibly wonder about a-fib. What causes it. How it's diagnosed. How to treat it, all of the different methods of treatment and operations available. And how to live with a-fib, minimize it's occurrences, and how to proceed after treatment.
It's written in such a way that it's fairly easy to understand. Lots of pictures to help explain.
I cannot help but think what my life would have been like if I had found this book years ago. I CANNOT ENCOURAGE YOU ENOUGH, IF YOU THINK YOU HAVE A-FIB, SEE A DOCTOR IMMEDIATELY! DO NOT ACCEPT NO FOR AN ANSWER. AND GET THIS BOOK, SO YOU CAN FIND YOUR WAY TO A CURE. DON'T WAIT UNTIL YOU HAVE A STROKE!

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Aug 11, 2020 Danielle Urban rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Restart Your Heart by Aseem Desai, MD, FHRS, is a great tool to have in any caregiver's or family member's arsenal. I was a caregiver for my grandma. She had congested heart failure, Alzheimer's Disease, and her heart irregular heart rhythms. The cardiologists recommended that we didn't operate on my grandma. We could have saved her life, if we did. But then with AD, it still would have been a tough journey. I had no idea about the weight gain, the lack of proper food for her diet, and the build ...more

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Aug 13, 2020 Judy rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: giveaways, nonfiction

I entered a Goodreads giveaway for this book because my husband was diagnosed with AFib last year and I wanted to learn more about it. In this book, Dr. Desai provides the reader with a great deal of authoritative information about the diagnosis and treatment of atrial fibrillation. While there is a lot of technical jargon, Dr. Desai does his best to put it into layman's terms. There are illustrations which help greatly to explain the actions and events that are taking place in the heart when AF ...more

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Nov 06, 2020 Margaret Yelton rated it really liked it · review of another edition

I won a e-book of Restart You Heart in a Goodreads giveaway, my boyfriend has a-fib so I found this to be a interesting read to say the least. Most times when he is in a-fib, he doesn't have any of the symptoms that normally go along with it. This book provides alot of useful information for us, but there was also alot of technical stuff that makes it a little hard to understand. I would certainly recommend this book to those that have the a-fib diagnoise. All opinions expressed here are mine, a ...more

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Aug 12, 2020 Susan Burlew rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Fabulous!!! Detailed information about Afib. What it is and what you can do for it. Tools for improvement. Understanding that there are many causes and triggers and each person is different. Case studies of 4 very different people and learning how to best help each one. Mostly hope that there are many treatments that can be used for an individual plan. I have already preordered the this for a loved one with Afib and am feeling optimistic for his future. Highly recommend!!!

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Sep 10, 2020 Irene rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Atrial Fibrillation

Extremely informative and very technical book on the subject matter of Atrial Fibrillation. Decided to read this book with breaks in between and a few pages at a time so I had a greater chance of understanding the material I was reading. I now have a greater understanding of how important it is to keep up with regular follow up appointments with my doctor and also to always take my medication as prescribed.

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Aug 20, 2020 Ellen Lew rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

My boyfriend died three years ago from afib. Wish I had this book back then. It was filled with so much information. My boyfriend was in constant afib and on medication and was told that is only what they could do for him. No surgery would be able to help him which I think his doctor failed him.

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Aug 14, 2020 Kayo rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: advance-copies-won

Comprehensive book on a subject I didn't relish reading. But, so glad it's available. My husband had been dealing with AFib for 17 years, and it has been a challenge. This book has been a great resource, and I'm glad author put his wonderful information out.

Thanks to Goodreads for the win of this book. While I got the book for free, it had no bearing on the rating I gave it. ...more

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Oct 11, 2020 Lisa Doyle rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: goodreads-wins

As someone who works in the medical field, as well as experienced first-hand AFib, this is a great resource. I will definitely recommend this book for my patients, as it breaks it all down into easily understandable terms. I also learned a few things that I will use in my practice. Great read!

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Sep 21, 2020 Donna rated it really liked it · review of another edition

As a spouse to a AFib patient, I found this book very interesting. There were many new to me concepts to consider. I
AFib is unfamiliar to me and I was delighted to receive this book free. My honest opinion: very informative to this niche.

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Oct 05, 2020 elvira rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: reference

Easy to understand, informative and very helpful. My husband has been living with afib for 10 years and taking coumidin. No one ever explained in a way he could understand all the questions he had about his condition. This fills a niche for folks like us.

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Sep 10, 2020 Flavia rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Unique presentation, informative and thorough, and heartfelt (no pun intended). I don't have afib myself (I read it for a family member who does), but to the best of my knowledge this is a great resource for those who do. ...more

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