Customer Reviews

The Healthy Heart Kit

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Through his integrative medicine approach, Dr. Andrew Weil continues to provide authentic healthy options and creatively presents them in user friendly formats. His proven expertise also includes his clear insight to select other experts who exemplify the finest in their own area of specialization. His is your heart's Dream-Team-Doctors including Devries,Olivo,and Rossman.


The Healthy Heart Kit is conveniently portable and accessible for your busy lifestyle. The two CDs, workbook and cards are adaptable to every variable for adopting your own special moments of opportunity for body-mind-spirit healing. You can listen on your car player or laptop, upload onto your I-Pod, and take the workbook and cards in your briefcase. You will be empowered to cultivate habits of Being-Healthy utilizing mutually supportive techniques and insightful modalities.


Dr. Stephen Devries presents a most welcomed approach for PREVENTATIVE heart health care through the finest of integrative medicine, valuable wisdom made practical for everyday living right down to proper diet, vitamin supplements and suggested exercises. Olivo and Rossman provide exercises for optimal cultivation and reinforcement of healing energy for healthy heart functioning. References are also provided for further exploration of the source materials of these respected experts.


All in all, the Heart Kit is user friendly and definitely user healthy. In the words of Dr. Devries, "write yourself a prescription." Purchase this kit and you will BE WELL on your way to a happy, healthier heart!

I ordered this kit, because I take heart health very seriously. After listening to the CDs and reviewing included flash cards and the book, I was not impressed.

The first CD provides information on the effects of exercise, nutrition, and emotion on the heart health. I did not hear anything I have not heard before, this was simply reiteration of information widely available to anyone who is interested in healthy life style: don't smoke, exercise, eat fruits and vegetables, take Omega-3 and other supplements, try to avoid stress. I found the manner of speech of one of the narrators distracting, this is not to say that others would feel the same way.

The second CD teaches simple meditation techniques to help handle the stress in our lives. I actually learned something new from this CD, although techniques outlined in this CD are very simple and, probably, can be easily found elsewhere with minimal effort.

Flash cards highlight the main points of the CDs and offer a few Mediterranean style recipes that creators of this kit recommend.

To summarize, The Healthy Heart Kit offers valuable information, which may be interesting to people who are beginning to be interested in heart health. The information in this kit can be found easily from other sources at a fraction of the price. Prior to ordering the Healthy Heart Kit, I read Eat to Live: The Revolutionary Formula for Fast and Sustained Weight Loss, which talks about overall health and not just weight loss. I found that book to be much more informative and engaging.

I do not think that at ~$20 this kit is a good value, but, I agree with the reviewer PT Cruiser that it would make "a great HAND-OUT for a cardiologist" or a physician.

I have long been a follower of Dr. Weil and his integrative approach to holistic medicine so jumped at the chance to review his latest offering, The Healthy Heart Kit.
The kit consists of two CDs, a workbook and a pack of cards (larger than playing cards) that cover topics such as Self Care, Diet and Exercise, Mind Body and Heart Inspirations. Self Care covers blood lipid levels, blood pressure and how to recognize a heart attack. Diet/Exercise shows the advantages of a Mediterranean diet and offers a couple of recipes along with info on blood sugar levels, target heart rate, supplements and tips for staying motivated. The largest group of cards is the Mind Body group that gives advice on everything from proper breathing to de-stressing, guided imagery and listening to your heart. Finally, Heart Inspirations offer affirmations to help you stay in balance. While helpful and informative, the cards are not something you'd carry with you as they are rather large.

The fifty-two page workbook is divided into five sections on the function of the heart, heart healthy eating and lifestyle, exercise and training, over-the-counter drug, the effect of emotions on the heart and meditation to reduce stress. Each topic is briefly, but well covered with quotes from the well-credentialed authors: Andrew Weil, M.D., Director of the Program in Integrative Medicine at the University of Arizona in Tucson, Stephen Devries, M.D., a board-certified cardiologist, Martin Rossman, M.D. co-founder of the Academy for Guided Imagery and Erin Olivio, Ph.D., MPH, the director of the Columbia Integrative Medicine Program.

The CDs: Session One runs a little over an hour with talks by Dr. Weil on heart health and the anti-inflammatory diet and Dr. Devries on heart function and a heart-healthy lifestyle. Session two contains information on proper breathing technique to relax your heart (Dr. Devries), Mindful Meditation and Stress Release (Erin Olivio) and finally, Guided Imagery for healing the heart (Dr. Rossman).

That covers what's in the box. As for the CDs, I found all of the information highly informative, though not all of it new to me. I wasn't able to practice the guided imagery because I was listening while driving, however, I feel this is a useful tool to attain the relaxation needed to de-stress. One nit: I found Erin Olivio's voice a little grating. She sounded more like a Valley Girl than a meditation motivator.

Is this a worthwhile kit? Absolutely. Though there is little new here, the teaching modality is very helpful when straight text can be dry. I give it two thumbs up.

My title shouldn't be taken as a criticism - rather "The Healthy Heart Kit" does an admirable job of squeezing a lot of information into a condensed form that makes it easy (well, easier) to take in a lot of information.

As is usual with Dr. Weil, there's a holistic approach that integrates your life with your health - so you're not just getting solid medical information, you're also getting suggestions about reducing stress in your life.

There are two CDs in the package (and it IS a "package" - with small workbook, discs, and flashcards) which put all the important information in audio form. Nice for commuters, or for people who don't have time to read a book but might want to put this on their iPod. The first disc is all factual information about the heart, diet, exercise and so on. The second is a series of guided meditations to help you learn to relax (so DON'T listen to these if you're driving a car!)

Personally, I would have preferred the guided meditations to have some soothing music rather than just a female voice punctuated with silence - but I'm sure there are plenty of others who'd rather not be distracted.

I haven't tried the recipes on the flashcards yet, but did like the thoughts expressed on some of them (affirmations and meditations). However, the cards are slightly too large to carry easily, so they'll need to live in a desk drawer or something similar.

All in all, a solid presentation of the material in a very palatable format. There may not be much new information for people who are already paying attention to their heart health, but for others this will be a great way to begin.

This kit has three elements: There are two CDs containing general information about the heart, how it works and current opinions on the best lifestyle for maintaining a healthy heart. There are also meditations to help lower stress levels. The second element is a workbook that has information about maintaining good heart health along with some exercises and references. The final part of the kit is a stack of cards, each containing either a meditation or some information about good heart health.

This is a nicely packaged set containing ho-hum material. There is nothing really new in it. The information is all useful but it just skims the surface. I also don't have a clue what to do with the cards. Maybe if someone wants to do some daily reading on heart-related topics, but there are only 25 of them, so they won't even take you through a month of reading. The one part of the set I liked was the references to other, more in-depth material.

This healthy heart kit is a very comprehensive tool for fighting heart disease and for life style changes for those already suffering from heart disease.

Dr Andrew Weils, along with Dr Stephen Devries (preventative cardiologist and associate professor at Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago), Dr Marty Rossman (expert on therapeutic guided imagery))and Dr Erin Olivo (clinical psychologist)together cover ailments of the heart, preventative medicine, reversible treatments, stress reduction, diet and exercise, cholesterol and weight among other topics.

Dr Weils notes that primitive peoples did not have heart disease, I found that interesting. As time passed and we became an industrial society, the heart problems began.

The cds, booklet and cards provide very valuable information on the causes, risk factors and life style changes to prevent or lessen the damage in existing heart problems. The cd in itself is just over 2 hours.

Although some of the advanced diagnostic testing are very involved men, the doctors speak in simple language and explain very carefully, making it easy for the laymen,such as myself.

The 25 color coded cards cover mind-body, self care, and my favorite heart inspirations.

Omega 3s play an important role in to heart health. Among some foods high in Omega 3s that are recommended here are mackerel and green tea.

This is an absolute great resource in prevention and improvement of heart health. The kit is so well put together that we can all educate ourselves with it.

I strongly recommend this kit to people young and old, with or without heart problems.

This is not as much a book as it is an aggregation. Dr Weil and his colleagues did not really create anything new or unique. What they did was review all of the current literature on complimentary/blended/integrative medicine relative to heart health, organize it by topic, present it in an easily accessible format, and put it out for people to use.

While it is true that a team of really competent graduate students could probably have produced a similar product in a semester, the fact is that they didn't. The amount of time and money that it would have taken for the average person to collect and sift through all of the research is prohibitive. For that reason alone, this is quite the bargain.

As to the specifics:

Disc One is a review of general information about the etiology of heart disease, and it shares the most current research on the relationship of heart disease to stress, smoking, diet, exercise, etc. It also explains nutrition-based research and provides good information. Dr Weil's team explains tests that are available through doctors, and sagely, they recommend that one consult one's doctor before doing anything major. The information provided about cholesterol and about inflammation was enlightening, to say the least.

Disc Two contains a collection of different mind-body techniques. These include guided meditations and imagery, breath work, and a stress reduction exercise. Good stuff, well executed.

There is a small booklet that comes with the kit. This looks like a larger version of
some of the booklets available in a doctor's office. The difference is the depth of information provided and the aggregation of all of the booklets into one convenient place, and the BIBLIOGRAPHY. This Bib is a great place to start for the reader who wants to get a little more into the subject. It was an excellent idea to include it.

Finally, the cards. They're nice, but there is nothing on the cards that does not appear somewhere else in the kit. I think they are mainly there for those who do not want to look at the book. They are brief and organized by topic.

I see this kit as having two primary markets. The first is those who need a quick overview so they can start learning more about the topic. The second is those who need basic information, but do not have time to wade through a regular book. For either, this is an excellent choice.

Length:: 2:51 Mins

One of the first things that you notice about the Heart Healthy Kit is it's nice presentation. I wanted to give you an idea using this video, of what the kit looks like and what it includes because it's pretty hard to tell from the picture posted here.

I thought the kit was very useful. I especially liked the meditation sections and the guided imagery on one of the audio CD's. This alone would make it worth the price for me. I've read recently about a lot of studies on the mind-body connection and the power of our thoughts over our physical condition. The audio sessions on the CD are very relaxing along with imparting some good information.

If I were a cardiologist or a family doctor seeing people for heart related issues, I'd make sure each patient walked out with one of these little kits. It's a nicely put together package containing a lot of useful information. I think I'll be purchasing some as gifts in the future.

There are many things I like about the Healthy Heart Kit, but I'll begin with the most remarkable. It has excellent, high quality information that is presented in small, easy-to-digest portions.

Some books or programs on health are so long or so dense that I'll wade through no matter what, but my husband, the one I really am concerned about, won't read more than the introduction. He loves this kit, even the "workbook", and he commented that the type of the materials is easy for his 50 year old eyes to read, without being printed in a giant font size that would be insulting.

The workbook has five main sections: one about the heart, one on healthy eating, one on lifestyle, "hearts and minds", and tips. Each is sensible, brief, and straight to the point. It has simple, straightforward tips that are easy to follow.

We both really like the heart-health cards. They offer bite-sized tips and information on a variety of topics, from understanding test results to recipes and relaxation, breathing, and meditation tips. Each can be read in about a minute and the suggested exercises take only a few minutes.

We haven't dusted off the CD player yet to use the CDs but are looking forward to doing so, and most importantly, my husband is really looking forward to listening to them. I haven't had to pester him once about using this kit, and he's enjoying it.

I appreciate this set - it makes taking care of my heart and the heart of those I love easy. You get the information in three different ways (not the exact same information, but useful facts, hints and suggestions).

Listening to the CDs is the easiest way. Just sit back, close your eyes and listen. The voices are easy to listen to; the information is clear and concise.

The workbook is short, easy to read and the way the information is presented makes it easy to find something you want to look up. The information is clearly presented and easy to understand.

My favorites are the 25 heart-health cards. Five cards discuss "Self Care." One of these cards covers the area of Personal Risk Assessment. Questions are asked that allow you to evaluate your personal risk factors.

Another five cards cover the subject of "Heart Inspirations." A subject discussed on one card is developing a Heart of Compassion. The third set of (9 count) cards covers "Mind and Body." These are my favorites. One card instructs the reader to practice guided imagery; another stress release, and a third, personal stress assessment.

The last set of cards covers diet and exercise.

I don't think you could go wrong buying this set. I like the way the information is presented - clear, simple, straight-forward and in an interesting way. It has something for those who know something about taking care of their hearts and information for someone who is just beginning to understand the importance of having the knowledge needed to take care of ones self.