The Heart of the Matter: The Three Key Breakthroughs to Preventing Heart Attacks

By Peter Salgo and Joe Layden

Book Overview

We are on the cusp of an enormous breakthrough in preventing heart attacks -- forever. In The Heart of the Matter, Dr. Peter Salgo, associate director of the Open Heart ICU at New York Presbyterian Hospital, offers a simple formula to treat people before they get sick, which in turn will prevent heart attacks before they occur.For the first time in history, we know what really causes heart attacks. And that knowledge has led Dr. Salgo to this amazingly simple and straightforward program that will save millions of lives.First, everyone will benefit from statins, the cholesterol-busting drugs marketed as Lipitor, Zocor, and others -- which Dr. Salgo say should be available over the counter. Next, everyone should be tested for a silent infection called chlamydia pneumonia. Not to be confused with the sexually transmitted disease, chlamydia pneumonia is a common bacteria that more than half of all Americans have been exposed to without knowing it. Dr. Salgo explains the links between this disease and the causes of heart attacks. This is huge news because if heart disease is an infectious disease, then it can be prevented and cured with antibiotics. The final ingredient is aspirin. We always knew that it prevented heart attacks, but Dr. Salgo explains why in laymans terms. This groundbreaking book also offers a self-test that readers can take to assess their own personal risk for heart disease.The Heart of the Matter is the beginning of a change in the treatment of heart disease. It introduces a preventative program that includes traditional diet and exercise guidelines as well as a blanket recommendation that adults, even young adults, incorporate medicines into their ongoing pursuit of health and longevity -- which, until now, seemed impossible to many. Now, without using a lot of indecipherable medical jargon, this invaluable new guide will show you exactly how to attain that longer, healthier life that so many people wish for.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0060544287
• ISBN13: 9780060544287
• Release Date: December 2003
• Publisher: William Morrow & Company
• Length: 256 Pages
• Weight: 1.07 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 6.3" x 9.4"

Customer Reviews

A matter of fact book that might save my life

I was lucky to stumble across an advance reading copy of Peter Salgo's book "The Heart of the Matter," written with Joe Layden. I love Joe Layden's books, he is an expert at every kind of expository writing, and he's very good at translating the language of public figures into a sturdy prose tailored to each figure he's ghosting for. He's the one who wrote the Rock's autobiography. But now that he has worked with Peter Salgo he has actually done something of a public service.Salgo's three-pronged prescription may be controversial--and indeed so simple that you could condense the message of this book into 10 words or less, like an old time telegram--but I feel confident that he is on the right track. And so does my own cardiologist. Maybe in the future we will all be learning a pattern of dependence on statins as a daily thing, the way we learn to brush our teeth. And keeping chlamydia at bay is bound to be a good thing in the long run. Good work, Salgo and Layden.

Thought provoking information

I found "The Heart of the Matter" extremely interesting, thought provoking and hightly believable because it was so well documented with a bibliography with listed source materials from respected national journals less than four or five years old! I'm a little uncomfortable with the need for antibiotics but - since heart disease is an infectious disease our options are limited. The book was easy to read and understand. What do I plan to do with the information - don't know yet - I'm still thinking Wow!

Bound to be controversial -- but arguably a lifesaver

It's fascinating to me that two respected and reputable New York cardiologists, Peter Salgo in "The Heart of the Matter" and Jonathan Sackner Bernstein in "Before It Happens to You," have come out in the same month with books espousing the unusual, rather heretical view that most Americans, even those regarded as healthy, would benefit from taking the popular cholesterol-lowering drugs called statins. The two books differ in several ways -- Salgo also focuses on aspirin and an infection that many Americans may harbor, Bernstein on the benefits of ACE inhibitors, etc. -- and I think the Bernstein book is a little more repetitive than the Salgo book and perhaps written on a slightly more casual level. But what's remarkable, to me at least, is that these books agree on the usefulness of statins, in fact on the crucial NEED for them: that is, the need to take them NOW instead of waiting till you've suffered a heart attack (when these drugs are generally prescribed). The two physicians are bluntly dismissive of the conventional wisdom that one should attempt to control cholesterol primarily by exercising more and altering one's diet. They don't say that these are bad choices, simply that they don't help very much; exercise and diet are relatively ineffective because 80 percent of one's cholesterol level is genetically determined and is not amenable to lifestyle changes. Salgo and Bernstein are, I think, rather courageous in advocating a solution so unfashionable; indeed, they are "thinking the unthinkable" -- that there IS a sort of pharmacological "quick fix" that happens to be safe and inexpensive; that swallowing some pills every day will actually lengthen our lives; and no doubt there are many well-meaning souls who will try to shout them down. I suspect, though, having read both books and having found them both persuasive, that Americans might well live significantly longer if they followed these doctors' advice.

Important Breakthrough Lifesaver of a Book!!

This book is an easy read and very informative. The information in The Heart of The Matter is real breakthrough knowledge on curing heart disease and heart attack. This is not just another useless diet book. Dr. Peter Salgo works in an intensive care unit and sees first hand what's going on with hearts. He knows that merely eating lettuce is not going to lower cholesterol and cure heart attack the way the statins and the three step plan he outlines in this book will. This is an important read for everyone, especially those with a history of family heart disease. This book could save your life. I highly recommend it!

The Heart of the Matter by Dr. Peter Salgo

All I can say is how great this book is.It is written in a simple to understand language.It made me think about my own life and how I live it.I made an appointment to see my doctor after reading this book.And, I'm bringing Dr. Salgo's book with me.I reccomend this book highly.