Customer Reviews

The Sinatra Solution: Metabolic Cardiology

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Be sure to order the UPDATED Sinatra Solution (Paperback) released March 2011 - the protocols were revised and enhanced!

The information in Sinatra Solution is *crucial* for anyone with cardiac concerns or anyone who wants to better understand how to avoid developing heart disease and the associated metabolic related diseases such as Type 2 Diabetes, Chronic Fatigue, and Fibromyalgia. In this book, Dr. Sinatra explains the details behind his success of taking patients who were on heart transplant waiting lists and returning them to a normal quality of life, sometimes free of any prescription drugs whatsoever. Magic? Maybe! ;-)

In the back of this book Dr. Sinatra provides an easy to follow list of supplementation protocols based upon types of cardiac concerns, even for the "world class athlete" and anyone wanting to follow the "age management protocol" to avoid their own future cardiac concerns.

Eighteen months ago a cardiologist with Metro Heart Group near St. Louis (now known as SSM Heart Institute - same office, same practitioners) told me "[your husband's] heart is so badly diseased ... his next step is a heart transplant." Three days later I took my husband back to the ER for probable pneumonia but instead five hours later the local ER team loaded my husband's IV line with Lasix then 2 hours later he experienced ventricular tachycardia with torsade de pointes (80% fatal rhythm) before flat-lining while in their care. After calling a code blue he was resuscitated with 200 joules electric shock and given several types of electrolytes by IV and injection. This was a very TRAUMATIC experience no one should be subjected!! Death, even temporary, is NOT good for a person's overall well-being!

After a week-long standoff in which my husband refused further cardiovascular intervention including having an AICD implanted despite their multiple attempts at coercion by entire teams of cardiologists; a local electro-physiologist informed me "Your husband will be dead within 2 weeks, likely in a matter of a few days." However, when we learned the risks and complications associated with having an AICD implanted and realized that my husband did NOT want to have his quality of life impinged upon, even if it meant risking his death. We believed we were making the best decision in our particular situation. (To this day we still believe having had an AICD would have severely affected his quality of life due to his particular set of hobbies!! If nothing else, no medical professional has been willing to answer the basic question "What will happen to someone with an AICD implanted in the case of an Electro-Magnetic Pulse (EMP)??"

Instead, together, we decided IT IS TIME TO TAKE BACK CONTROL OF OUR HEALTH! A wonderful friend strongly encouraged I get a copy of Dr. Sinatra's books (she specifically mentioned Sinatra Solution) ASAP if I wanted to help my husband remain among the living. I ordered this book through Amazon that very night and it arrived 2-3 days later. THANK YOU AMAZON!!

Possible heart transplant needed? AICD recommended? Likely dead in a few days?!?! NOT ANYMORE!!!

Within SIX WEEKS after the local cardiologist gave us that fateful prognosis and that fateful ER situation, my husband was able to resume normal daily activities, walk 5 miles in a single day and still go shopping that evening. Within a few short weeks of beginning Sinatra's protocols as described in this book, overall he had more energy and vitality than he had experienced in the past 30 years. My husband made a remarkable recovery!!

My husband's recovery is not a "miracle", it was a sensible recovery once the energy system of the human body is understood. We followed the protocols provided by Dr. Stephen Sinatra in this book, along with avoiding the "food chemicals" such as artificial food colors (FD&C Blue 1 has been casually linked to fatalities per the FDA's website), artificial sweeteners, bleached or enriched flour or commercial dough products which often contain brominated dough conditioners, white rice (brown rice is fine!), high fructose corn syrup, brominated vegetable oil, etc, along with a sensible exercise program.

In Sinatra Solution, Dr. Sinatra reveals his "awesome foursome" of supplements as magnesium, l-carnitine, co-enzyme Q-10 and d-ribose which all affect the energy system at the cellular level. We also learned the value of "fish pills" (as our current cardiologist calls them) as an anti-arrhythmic - also mentioned in the protocols this book. (The most economical source I have found for d-ribose is here on Amazon...)

The most significant revelation that I learned by watching an interview of Dr. Stephen Sinatra M.D. that is MISSING from this book is the fact that ATP is one and the same as the oriental concept of chi/qi. As he further points out in this book, the heart muscle cells require the most ATP than any other cell in the body. Hence d-ribose supplementation is crucial for boosting the level of ATP (chi/qi) in the sick cardiac patient. As Sinatra points out, the body doesn't make enough ribose during times of stress, hence why the ATP (chi/qi) production drops off. Sinatra further explains that ribose production is a high energy demand system within the body, hence production in the body is shut down during times of high stress.

I have since loaned out my personal copy of this book so many times that I now pick up extra copies to gift away to others. When my husband was hospitalized this year for an unrelated situation many of the hospital staff asked to borrow our copy of Sinatra Solution after hearing his story - kitchen staff, patient services, therapists, RNs, LPNs, even a medical doctor was intrigued to browse the book after hearing my husband's story (which was further validated by our current cardiologist.)

I began following Sinatra's protocols as outlined in this book to maintain a healthy heart since my mother and many of my family members have suffered with and died from heart disease - sometimes at a relatively young age. Since implementing the supplements recommended by Dr. Sinatra I have gone from being hypertensive to routinely having a blood pressure of 106/68 and I am no longer on any prescription drugs whatsoever. I am still obese, but now I have abundant energy to be more active hence I, too, am regaining my own health.

Thank you, Dr. Sinatra, you have helped us tremendously by sharing your candles of knowledge and experience!

UPDATE FEBRUARY 2010: My husband recently celebrated his SECOND birthday since his untimely experience with DEATH at the hands of the medical team in Lake St. Louis, Missouri. Without learning of Dr. Sinatra's protocols as published in this book, these past 2 years would have been much different for us. Despite a serious blow with another illness (the doctors believe it's Lyme Disease after we visited a horse farm which was only possible since my husband had recovered from heart disease...) my husband's ejection fraction has returned to close to the 50% range despite having previously been documented several times in the 15% to 20% range. 50% is in the NORMAL range - some would call it an AMAZING MIRACLE, we call it Metabolic Cardiology ;-)

UPDATE MARCH 2011: Since this saga began my husband has suffered a fractured hip, a compression fractured spine and some sort of "unknown virulent virus" that left him suffering "unilateral partial paralysis" (hence the fractures). Fortunately thanks to Metabolic Cardiology my husband's heart was strong enough to endure these injuries, surgery for the fractured hip and countless months of rehab. Unfortunately with all these major medical setbacks and resultant severely compromised mobility issues his LVEF has fallen and he's been forced into disability due to the combination of the myriad medical situations. HOWEVER, he is still very much alive, enjoying life free of medical devices and has now entered his 4th year "since death." He credits his survival to Sinatra's protocols and has told countless (thousands) of people that there is no way he would still be alive today without having followed the basic protocols of Metabolic Cardiology. We cannot begin to give enough credit to the concept of Metabolic Cardiology as developed by Dr. Sinatra for having given us the priceless gift of YEARS together after TEAMS of cardiologists and electro-physiologists in the St. Louis Metropolitan area refused to provide information on ANY alternatives outside of having an AICD implanted.

UPDATE DEC 2011: We are marching towards FOUR YEARS since the cardiologists and electro-physiologists near St. Louis informed me that I did not "understand it was a matter of life and death", that I did not "understand I was taking my husband home to die" and that "he will be dead within 2 weeks, probably a few days." I do NOT have a degree in medicine, I am NOT a medical professional. However, obviously we have learned the truth - there are other viable answers outside of pharmaceutical drugs, surgery and medical devices. He is not only still alive but living a relatively normal lifestyle despite other complicating factors. His employer eventually laid him off and told him to file for disability which was approved. He now has endured other medical issues completely unrelated to the initial heart issues which are now his most limiting physical conditions - a broken hip, a fractured back, partial paralysis stemming from an unknown virulent virus and most recently MRSA likely acquired while in the hospital for a serious burn / staph infected foot. However, without the Sinatra protocols, I am certain there is no way he would have lived through not one, not two, not three, but FOUR other serious medical issues that otherwise were life-threatening on their own accord. He is a real trooper and his story has inspired countless others to empower themselves to regain their own health. We have Dr. Stephen Sinatra and the Sinatra Solution to thank for our continued life together - there was ZERO hope for my husband to have a chance to live until a great friend led us to Sinatra's books.

I wished there were more cardiologists like Dr. Sinatra who incorporates the use of proven supplements (supported by scientific studies)in their cardiology practice in addition to traditional treatments, diet and exercise. I esp appreciate the explanations he detailed-the biochemistry- of the awesome foursome: Coq10, l- carnitine, ribose and magnesium. This is a must read for cardiac patients. Before I read the book I was already taking CoQ10 the ubiquinol type from Life Extension and magnesium in addition to fish oil. I have recently added ribose before I received my book from Amazon. I did experienced the transient dizziness from ribose ( 2 episodes) as explained in the side effects section of ribose chapter. It reassured me so I will continue taking it. Now I will be ordering the l-carnitine. In addition to the book's great resource for heart patients, the healthy baby boomers (like me) should consider following the recommendations of Dr. Sinatra. Some readers may find the detailed explanation tedious reading and maybe would prefer to read the summary in the end of the book. His explanations why the supplements work affirmed what I knew and added more knowledge and understanding why these supplements are important. Thank you Dr. Sinatra.

Dr. Sinatra's analysis and advice has saved us from going through unnecessary, unhelpful, invasive treatments and medications for artery blockage and congestive heart failure. Most conventional treatments make you feel worse not better and you can never get off of them. More physicians should recognize the value of nutritional supplements which allow the body to heal itself.

We have learned that symptoms and damage due to cardiac disease are reversible. Dr. Sinatra's clearly presented, easily understood advice has been invaluable in helping us to do that.

For 7 years I had to take a nap every day due to "Chronic Fatigue Syndrome". I got over my need for a daily nap when I got off of all sugar, all wheat, and started drinking "Green Smoothies" daily. After I "got my life back" I took on a physically demanding job and started having "tiredness issues" again. I found this book and read in reviews that the same supplement Dr. Sinatra recommends for heart issues help with Chronic Fatigue. These supplements have done WONDERS for my ability to recover from the physical exertion my job requires.

I highly recommend this book for anyone who is tired and in need of energy! (However, supplements should never replace sound, healthy eating habits!)

I followed the recommendations in this book and have substantially reduced my plaque build up (confirmed by CTA scans) and have actually increased the injection fraction of my heart. The "Awesome Foursome" is truly amazing. I have been following these guidlines for a year now. The differences have even amazed my cardiologists. My blood pressure systolic is now below 100 compared with over 120 prior to changing to the PAAM diet and using the supplements recommended by Dr. Sinatra.

This book is a really welcome addition to the growing field of metabolic cardiology (the role of food nutritional supplements to improve heart health - not a dictionary definition).

The author Stephen T. Sinatra is a Board Certified Cardiologist, a certified bio-energetic psychotherapist and a certified nutrition and anti-aging specialist. At his practice in Manchester, Connecticut, USA, he integrates conventional medicine with complementary nutritional and psychological therapies to help heal the heart.

This book gives detailed information, backed by many case studies and other published research papers, on the role of Coenzyme Q10, L-Carnitine, D-Ribose and Magnesium in maintaining and improving heart health and also diseases of the peripheral blood vessels, muscles and conditions like Fibromyalgia etc.

The introduction by Dr. James C. Roberts, M.D, F.A.C.C. is really excellent and gives a good idea of the subject. Chapter 8 and the Conclusion also are helpful in allowing you to decide whether the book will be helpful for you. Chapters 4, 5, 6 and 7 deal with the four supplements in detail. The book has a glossary, Resources, References and an Index.

An excerpt: In congestive heart failure (CHF), like other cardiovascular and many other disease syndromes, the actual root causes can be quite varied, from weakened heart muscle, to overly tight or overly loose heart valves, and so on. And while it is definitely appropriate that cardiologists (and other medical practitioners) use the conventional drugs mentioned to treat CHF - because they work - consideration toward adding powerful nutritional supports like L - Carnitine, coenzyme Q10, and D-Ribose is equally judicious.

Only by adding the these three nutritional supports will practitioners be treating symptoms as well as directing nutrition to the cellular level, where it can make a real difference on the underlying pathology. I have watched from the side lines as the simple addition of these nutrients has affected my patients' quality of life most positively... and has even helped them live longer than expected with their heart conditions.

(From Pages 93 and 94, Chapter 5)

End of the excerpt

I would suggest that you check out the Introduction, the Chapter 8 (Sinatra Solution) and the Conclusion.

The Writing Style, Editing and Printing are very good. The subject is very difficult to explain in layman's language but the author and editors tried their best.

For whom the book is meant: Patients and their care givers. Many health professionals will find this a good handy guide to the field.

Recommendation: An excellent buy for preventive and maintenance care of the heart and general health. Will make an excellent gift to your family members, friends and their cardiologists and of course to yourself too!

The author claims to be a certified nutrition and anti-aging specialist (I write "claims" because I have yet to be convinced there is anyone or any group knowledgeable enough - read "Trick and Treat" to learn why). The book appears to be technically sound and provides detailed explanations of what the author calls the "awesome foursome": CoQ10, carnitine, ribose and magnesium. He claims great success in the use of these proven supplements (as supported by scientific studies) in his cardiology practice. This is not an easy book, however. I read it twice and still did not feel I had understood it properly.

Thanks to the summaries towards the end, which suggest what and how much to take for various health challenges, running the gamut from serious heart diseases to high blood pressure, chronic fatigue, fibromyalgia, insulin resistance and diabetes type 2, I did work out a program of supplements. The cost of an order for just three months was in the hundreds of dollars, as the best CoQ10 turns out to be Q-Gel and each 100mg capsule costs about 50cents. This was in addition to the best form of L-carnitine, which turned out to be GPLC (a "revolutionary new supercharged form of L-carnitine") and the 1g capsules were again about 50cents each. You are recommended to take at least one of each daily (many of the summaries recommend more), plus the d-ribose sugar (also not cheap) and the magnesium.

I tried the regime for over a month, then had to stop everything because of heart flutter issues (mostly traced back to xylitol - not part of the Sinatra program - but still had to work on identifying at least one of the "awesome foursome" supplements as I again started to get flutters when I went back to that program). The D-Ribose works amazingly well to provide long-term energy (by which I mean it lasts all day and into the evening) but gave me insomnia until I both cut back by half and only took it before noon. I've known magnesium is important for a long time but have failed to see measurable benefits whenever I've added it to my supplements (sometimes taking it for over a year and in quite large amounts of up to 1g). I still haven't decided whether CoQ10 is helpful for me. [Later note: eventually I also had to drop CoQ10 due to adverse body reactions.]

So I had to re-start the Sinatra program and then back off several times over a few weeks. By a process of elimination of each of the "awesome foursome" I've discovered that the L-Carnitine also gives me heart flutters (perhaps I should be grateful to have such an "early-warning" system in my body). Internet research reveals that some reported L-carnitine side effects include vomiting, nausea, headache, diarrhea, stuffy nose, restlessness and sleeping difficulty. Some serious side effects may include fast heartbeat rates, increase in blood pressure and even fever! Why does Sinatra's book not give any warning about this? Surely some of his patients reported side effects?

Perhaps it's just my cynicism from decades of reading endless books singing the praises of so-called miracles such as vitamin D (having read 8 books on this subject alone during 2009/10), DMSO, MMS, DHEA, vitamin C, magnesium, iodine, omega 3 EFAs, breathwork, oxygen therapy, hydrogen peroxide, water, thyroid hormone, adrenal hormone, liver cleanses, detoxes, fasts, exercise, neutralizing electromagnetic stress, juicing, mangosteen, noni juice, superfoods, organic foods, wholefoods, celiac diets, dairy-free diets, veggie diets, protein diets, carb diets, food combining, acid-alkaline balancing diets, Glycaemic Index diets, high fiber diets, raw food diets, candida/fungus elimination, parasite cleansing - oh dear, the list of my gullibility seems endless.

Yes, I've tried all of these; yes, thoroughly and sometimes repeating them in various combinations and on each occasion with enthusiasm and bright-eyed hope but I saw no measurable benefits. "Trick and Treat" by Groves explains in detail just why so many of my efforts were doomed and "Never Fear Cancer Again" by Raymond Francis is a brilliant distillation of what is truly needed for health. Nowadays, when I read about health wonders - as in this book and all those books on vitamin D - I wonder how many claims of success are made up or at least tweaked - and I wonder what proportion of actual patients were successful in any way, much less miraculously so, as is always claimed by such books.

So, apart from the D-Ribose, this book's recommendations do not seem to have worked for me. It may be worth knowing that another sugar with health benefits is D-Mannose. Curiously, little or nothing has been written for laymen about D-Mannose but it has already become known as very effective for cystitis and actually it is also a brilliant anti-fungal sugar. There is usually both low energy and fungal overgrowth with all poor health.

Creatine is worth considering too; the best book is probably the research-based but expensive and jargon-ridden "Essentials of Creatine in Sports and Health" by Stout, Antonio and Kalman. Warning: Xylitol is now being pushed hard but beware: in my experience it interferes with the electrical system of the body - I got heart flutters, as mentioned earlier.

Finally, I recommend 3 books which should be on the "top 10" of any list of books on health: "Trick and Treat", which turns upside down everything governments have told us to eat for health, "Outsmart Your Cancer", a well-researched book on alternative therapies - anything that can HEAL cancer is also a general healer and should be able to help much else in the body, and "Never Fear Cancer Again" by Raymond Francis, a brilliant distillation of what is truly needed for health.

I purchased this book after hearing about the supplements it touts from my personal trainer. I have no heart problems or issues, just want to maximize fitness. Good book, good for more than 'fixing' cardiac function. There are some sections that got more technical than I wanted, but for the most part it is clear straightforward. I recommend it for anyone who is interested in understanding how to optimize cardiac function: for exercise (like me) or for heart conditions--as well as for a multitude of others. Dr. Sinatra lists multiple protocols at the back of the book for use of the supplements for people with different goals: heart issues, diabetes, fibromyalgia, anti-aging, athletics and more.

After my heart attack, a friend sent this book to me. I placed in a corner and never intended to read it. However, four months after my heart attack I was still so weak that I couldn't ever push a grocery cart. Discouraged, I figured that I didn't have anything to lose, so I found the book and read it. The information in this book gave my life back to me. Within one month of using the nutritional supplements recommended in this book, I was nearly as strong as before the heart attack. Four months have gone by and I am not stronger than I was before the heart attack.

It is my understanding from the book, that not everyone is going to experience the success that I have enjoyed, but I strongly recommend this book to those who struggle with heart health.

This is a very informative book. My husband and I both suffer from heart disease. We were already taking some supplements. The missing piece of the puzzle for us was D-Ribose. It was great to know we were on the right track and to have this information spelled out in terms we could understand. Thanks to Dr. Sinatra. LM