Customer Reviews

The South Beach Heart Health Revolution: Cardiac Prevention That Can Reverse Heart Disease and Stop Heart Attacks and Strokes (The South Beach Diet)

5 star:		(50)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Several years ago, my doctor put me on the South Beach Diet after tests showed high cholesterol. Having a roll of fat around my belly didn't help either. I was hesitant to go on a diet, because everything I heard had led me to believe that they don't work, and that I'd just end up putting the weight back on, and adding several pounds beyond that. But the diet said that I could eat normal portions, and indeed did not have to limit how much I ate of most things, so long as I stuck with healthful foods. Since getting my blood chemistry right was the issue, not losing weight, I figured I'd give it a try. And I figured that if my love handles went away, so much the better.

As it turned out, following the South Beach Diet book, by the same author, not only got my cholesterol into the normal range, where it has stayed for years, but had a side effect of my waist size dropping by five inches. Although the diet worked well, I thought that the diet book could have been written better.

This new book represents a focus and maturity that his earlier books lacked. It deals with the broader area of heart health, not just diet and exercise. Although it is still repetitive in some places, it does a good job driving home the points that it sets out to make. Just as his earlier book showed me that most of what I learned about diet while growing up was just plain wrong, Agatston shows that what most people knew about heart attacks and related conditions, including what cardiologists knew, was wrong.

What was lacking in the earlier book was a clear path for the dieter whose goal was to improve health more than lose weight. This new book gives a better framework in that respect. Although it's not a comprehensive diet book, it gives a good enough understanding that a person needs to eat better and how to do it. Buying his diet book would still be helpful, but that's not a fault with this book, which has diet as only one of its concerns.

Many people have come to view his diet as a fad, a gimmick, or something that sidesteps good eating in order to lose weight. Yet since its publication, the US Government's "Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2005" has been released and affirms that his book's dietary framework is in line with the latest scientific understanding of what constitutes good eating and proper nutrition. Yet Agatston needed not worry about political ramifications and compromises, while the government's position is a bit softer on its goals to give up some bad habits.

Likewise, would be readers might be skeptical of a book that questions conventional wisdom and wonder if the author will be preaching junk science. Agatston is a renowned cardiologist and the principles presented in this book are in line with the latest generally understood ideas from cutting edge cardiology. These may be ideas that go against prior understanding, but are not ones that are contradicted by myriad recent studies.

To the contrary, Agatston shows by common sense example why the old understandings never made sense. Patients often left their cardiologist's office with a clean bill of health, only to have a heart attack within a week, showing that past methods were not very good predictors of cardiac problems. Likewise, theories about gradual arterial blockage leading to heart attacks after a certain threshold didn't make sense either. If the purpose of stress tests was to ascertain the degree to which the body was impaired, then there should have been a correlation between the degree of arterial plaque buildup and the way patients performed on those tests. But there wasn't.

This book covers the basics of how and why heart attacks and strokes really happen. It covers how diet and exercise affects things, and how medications change the picture. It discusses medical procedures and surgery, and why some surgical procedures often do nothing to enhance the quality or length of life. Diet and exercise advice is realistic, rather than overambitious advice that people will follow for a few weeks and give up on. The book covers the medical tests that are actually helpful in preventing heart problems, and offers sound advice on understanding medications. Rather than targeting arbitrary numeric goals, Agatston explains how specific medical tests can determine whether your blood chemistry levels are appropriate and how to to prevent future problems.

Ultimately, this book is readable, accomplishes its goals of explaining its program in an understandable way, and can arm the reader with the knowledge necessary to avoid heart problems and expensive (and often unnecessary) surgery. Although the medical community at large, not to mention the insurance industry, can be slow to adapt to changing scientific understanding, this book will arm you with the knowledge you need to understand and guide your medical care in an appropriate manner.

I've been overweight my entire life but my blood chemistry tests have always been excellent so I took good heart health for granted. That is, until my dad had quintuple bypass surgery last summer. That was a major wake-up call for me and my search for information led me to Dr. Agatson's book.

Dr. Agatson explains that we have the knowledge and technology to almost eliminate heart attacks and strokes. In the book, he outlines a four-part program to protect yourself from heart disase. The four parts, in no particular order, are as follows:

Part One: Diet. Not surprisingly, Dr. Agatston recommends his South Beach Diet to prevent cardiovascular disease.

Part Two: Exercise. Again, no surprise here. A sensible program of cardiovascular and strength training is included in the book.

Part Three: Diagnostic tests. This was the most surprising part of the book for me. Dr. Agatston describes several critical but rarely used tests that can give your physician a great deal of information about your chances of having a heart attack. He also discusses some more commonly used tests, such as the new calcium scoring heart scans (which, incidentally, Dr. Agatston developed...it rates your calcium as an "Agatston score").

Part Four: Medication and supplements. Dr. Agatson discusses over-the-counter supplements that are beneficial as well as prescription medications. Several of the prescription medications are used based on the results of the diagnostic tests described in part three.

Perhaps the most eye-opening part of the book is the explantion of how a heart attack occurs. The notion of plaque gradually building up in your arteries until it blocks the blood flow is incorrect. This blew my mind because it contradicts everything I thought I knew about heart disease.

Overall, I rate this book as one of the best and most important I've ever read. Every adult should read this book and utilize it's principles.

This book clears up the fallacies of the old "plumber's model" of how the heart works and explains the difference between hard plaque and soft plaque. I learned a lot about how diet and exercise affect triglicerides, insulin, abdominal fat, diabetes, and heart disease. Dr. Agatston goes into a lot of detail about lipid profiles, heart medications, invasive procedures and preventative measures. It is well-written, not condescending at all, and dispells some old myths about heart disease.

In the exercise section I have a problem with the Pilates knee pull, leg pulls and lifts, and bicycle, which can put a lot of strain on the lumbar spine, since there is no mention or picture showing lumbar support. I base this on experience and on Stuart McGill. Ph.D's research on spine biomechanics. Sometimes an exercise is great for muscles but not so healthy for the spine.

I bought this book for my 86-year-old dad who has heart problems, high blood pressure and cholesterol issues. He read it cover to cover and found it easy to understand and entertaining. He picked up wonderful tips on lifestyle which he is following to the letter. Buy this book for someone you love. P.S. When I originally wrote this review, my dad was 85 . . . he is now heading for a vigorous and healthy 87! This book is highly recommended. It is still on my dad's bookshelf. It is a great tool to help someone start making changes that will improve their health and prolong their life.

This book is essential reading.

Have you ever been to a cardiologist? I've been to lots. The South Beach Heart Program will teach you more valuable lessons about what you can do to improve your health than if you consulted every cardiologist you could find.

Why do you need to learn those lessons? Most of what you've been told about heart health is wrong. For example, most people have been told that the higher your cholesterol level the more likely you are to have a heart attack. Yet, more people with low cholesterol have heart attacks than those with high cholesterol. Like most things, the answer is more complicated. It all depends on what kind of cholesterol you have: And you probably don't know how to interpret or ask for the right kinds of lab tests. This book will cure those kinds of misunderstandings.

Basically, there's been a shift in what we understand about heart disease in the last few years. The older (and incorrect) view is that you need to sluice out the arteries and all will be well (much like what a plumber does). The newer (and more correct) view is that arteries become damaged and need to be healed. This book explores the implications of the newer view.

How can you tell what kind of cardiologist you have? If they favor heart bypass surgery, balloon catheterization, and stents, you've got a plumber. If they oppose those methods, you've got a healer.

Long before he was taking dozens of pounds off millions of people with his South Beach Diet, Dr. Agatston was a well-respected cardiologist. In this book, you see the four elements that he prescribes for his patients to virtually eliminate heart disease:

1. Follow the South Beach Diet.
2. Exercise according to the South Beach Heart Workout.
3. Get the right diagnostic tests.
4. Use the right medications, as appropriate for your situation.

If you don't know what the South Beach Diet is, the principles are pretty simple:

a. Avoid bad carbohydrates (ones what are quickly processed by your body)
b. Avoid bad fats (ones that create harmful cardio-vascular conditions, especially trans fats)
c. Increase good carbohydrates (ones that are slowly processed by your body)
d. Increase good fats (such as omega-3 fatty acids found in fish)

The process for doing this first involves withdrawing from carbohydrates for two weeks and then gradually shifting to healthy carbohydrates (such as oat bran).

This book contains a thumbnail section with the key elements of the diet, but I recommend you also get the full book on the diet.

The exercise regimen isn't bad at all. It will take you about 45 minutes a day, including 30 minutes of brisk walking. You don't need to go to the gym. Your shape will improve as you diet, which is a nice side benefit.

The medical testing is also quite reasonable. You'll get an annual physical examination, simple blood tests, an electrocardiogram, a heart scan, an occasional stress test, and occasional ultrasounds. Only the stress test is any kind of a big deal at all, and most physicians will have you do those every so often once you are past certain ages. The heart scan is quick and painless and can provide lots of advance warning of heart attack risk: Dr. Agatston is famous for his measurements in this area which are well explained in the book.

As for medication, obviously your physician will decide. He argues in favor of statin drugs to lower cholesterol (such as Zocor and Lipitor), niacin (vitamin B3), cholesterol-absorption blockers (like Zetia), fibrates for reducing triglycerides (such as Lopid and TriCor), blood pressure reducing drugs, aspirin, and dietary supplements. Armed with this list, you can have a good discussion with your regular physician or cardiologist (if you are already under treatment).

I think the key lesson of this book is that you need to choose your cardiologist carefully. That alone can be worth a great deal to you.

Bravo, Dr. Agatston!

I am a Registered Nurse and believe that this book WILL save lives if people will use his program. I brought my total cholesterol down 80 points in just 3 months-in my case, using old-fashioned oatmeal and 2 tbsp. milled flaxseed EVERY morning for breakfast and THEN following the South Beach Diet for the rest of the day. (I cannot go almost completely without carbs, it doesn't work for me.)My HDLs (good) are OVER 85 and my LDLs (bad) are less than 120. Triglycerides were great, at less than 100.My doctor was so shocked, he searched my records to make sure he had not prescribed a statin medication! I hope this is not too technical and helps you.

I've been a registered nurse for nearly 40 years and this is the best book on prevention of heart attacks and strokes I've ever read. Everything they taught us way back in nursing school is now old news. Dr. Agaston lays out a plan for prevention of heart disease that's truly exciting based on recent research and medical findings. He talks about all the statins and how they work. Just to think that we can actually prevent heart attacks if we follow the guidelines he lays out for us! The book isn't written in medical language but rather in a simple and clear way that anyone can understand and benefit from. I think all cardiologists should read this book. It totally changed my opinion on taking statins to reduce lipid levels. I've been following the South Beach eating plan for awhile now and it's getting me into much better shape than I've been in a very long time. I truly believe it's the healthiest eating plan out there. Dr. Agaston says that he barely sees one heart attack a year now and has a fellow physician who he quotes as saying he hasn't had a patient who had a heart attack in about 5 years, that's really incredible. Dr. Agaston isn't some fly by night, he's a trusted and noted cardiologist and associate professor in Florida. How wonderful to see a physican who wants to prevent disease not just treat it. I recommend this book highly to anyone who has any risk factors or cardiac disease or knows anyone who does, it can change your life.

Let me sum up this book in one word - FABULOUS. Dr. Agatston gets it RIGHT, and no body else has come close. The amount of incorrect information that millions of Americans are receiving about heart disease from the mass media is shocking. Very few people are doing more than ten percent of what they need to do to prevent falling victim to this COMPLETELY PREVENTABLE DISEASE.

Most readers will read Dr. Agatston's book because he is the author of the wildly popular South Beach Diet, but this is a great standalone book. This is the book that the good Doctor could have written first, because he is a MASTER of heart disease. He is the creator of the Agatston scoring system, which is utilized when one has a heart scan.

Maybe you haven't heard of a heart scan? Dr. Agatston talks about the new heart scanners that are available in his book. The modern heart scan which is non invasive, and takes only a couple of minutes to perform is the device that will probably revolutionize heart disease care in the next ten years. At the same time very few doctors in the United States are recommending that their patients get a heart scan.

The reason is that doctors, like most of us are creatures of habit. They are also employing a business model that they don't want to change. Read Dr. Agatston's book, and you will realize that only through a painless, quick heart scan can you detect if you truly have heart disease. Oh yes, you can also detect heart disease through an $8,000 angiogram, but no insurance company will pick that up unless you have SYMPTOMS. You don't want to wait to have heart symptoms before confirming you have heart disease.

One more thing you need to know and the book is clear on this point. If you have successfully passed a treadmill test, you could STILL have heart disease that is about to deliver a massive heart attack to you. The reason is that most doctors still hold to a "Plumbers view" of heart disease learned in medical school.

They believe incorrectly that heart disease is a gradual build-up of a blockage(s) until the blockage completely blocks off the artery, and a heart attack ensues. We know now that this is only true for a minority of heart attacks. The treadmill test can only pick up blockages of 70% or more. The vast majority of heart attacks are resulting from blockages of 15% to 25%. These blockages have soft fibrous caps that suddenly ERUPT. A blood clot forms, and SCABS OVER the eruption, blocking the passageway, and BINGO, you have a massive heart attack.

Most doctors do not understand this modern theory of heart disease, which is about 4 years old. They are still adhering to the plumbers' model, ordering treadmill a test, when they should be ordering heart scans. When you then pass the treadmill test because you don't have a 70% blockage anywhere in your system, they pronounce you fit and send you home with flying colors. Meanwhile, you could have scores of 15% or 20% blockages, be a walking time bomb, and no one is intervening.

Dr. Agatston also does a fabulous job at clarifying the issue of Cholesterol. This chemical is vital to living. Our cells could not live without Cholesterol. The problem is that our bodies get too much Cholesterol with the modern diet. Our evolution is still based on the nomadic existence of millions of years of living in warm climates, with tall grasses, and a hunter, gatherer's instincts. Our modern diet produces, and allows us to inject way more Cholesterol than we need to live.

What the Doctor does so well is tell you that it's not your Cholesterol SCORE that matters, but your Cholesterol SIZE that matters. It's also the type of Cholesterol that you have that matters. As they said about Godzilla, SIZE DOES MATTER. Dr. Agatston understands and explains the importance of the different types of Cholesterol particles. Once you GET IT, it will radically change your understanding of what you have to do. There are good types and bad types of Cholesterol and it's all covered in an easy to understand manner.

Most doctors when they test you will not specify PARTICLE SIZE and TYPE. Your test comes back with a Total Cholesterol number, and you think you're home free. In reality you might have progressive heart disease. It's all in the book, and if you even think you have a remote possibility of heart disease, you need to be AWARE of these ideas.

When you are dealing with heart disease, the patient needs to be INFORMED. An informed patient gets better care and better outcomes than a patient that says to the doctor FIX ME. There are also those patients who don't want to know about their disease, and that's not the way to go.

I have read Dr. Agatston's book thoroughly, and have compared it to just about everything else on the market that's out there. It compares very favorably. He's a good writer, and the book was not ghost written for him. There are a number of books on this subject where the big guy on the cover is NOT writing the book. Medical residents, and research associates are writing them. Is this necessarily bad?

If you are paying for a big name doctor to write a heart book, you want the big name doctor to have written that book. Do you want to read a book by a famous doctor on the cover, who than has a 27-year-old resident write it for him, or do you want to read the REAL THING? The South Beach Diet Program is the real thing, written by the real guy. Good luck, and get that heart scan.

Richard Stoyeck

This book is a must read for everyone approaching middle-age. Heart disease can be stopped in its tracks and you or your loved ones needn't end up in surgery or fall victim to a heart attack. Incredibly well-written and fascinating, Dr. Agatston explains how to take charge of our heart health today and how to communicate with our doctors to get the prevention we need. No one needs to die of heart disease!

Great Read!

This book is a real eye opener. As I am reading it, I am thinking of family members and friends that have died of heart disease. I am convinced that the information in this book could have saved them. No, I am not being melodramatic. The book is filled with well explained lifestyle changes, medications and diagnostic procedures that will save lives. Maybe yours. I am 56 years old. I have not lived a very healthy lifestyle so far, and I have a family history of heart disease. Thank you, Dr. Agatston, for providing this information. I am taking it to heart, literally.