Heart Beats and Heart Breaks

... the sound increased... It was a low, dull, quick sound — much such a sound makes when enveloped in cotton. ... the noise steadily increased... "Villains!" I shrieked, "dissemble no more. I admit the deed! — tear up the planks!, here! — It is the beating of his hideous heart!"

Here and there I have written of my heart disease in posts and comments and there was a post on Dr. Dean Ornish's book on Reversing Heart Disease . It is not an entertaining subject unless you are reading Edgar Allen Poe's The Tell-Tale Heart. However it is an important subject of health in a health hungry country where 3 million persons suffer with heart disease.

Since I suffer congestive heart failure, abnormal rhythms and coronary artery disease I have a tendency to try to keep up with the literature and news on the subject. One cannot expect every doctor, including my Mexican cardiologist, to keep up with all the studies, news, treatments and technological advances. So I try to stay informed.

If, like many first worlders with tense, type A lives, you join the millions with heart problems you should be watching the advances and treatments that are rapidly improving and changing. In many developing countries, the heart disease rates are increasing and have overtaken diabetes as the major killer. There is another post at Reversing Heart Disease where I wrote on Dr. Dean Ornish's excellent program for people with heart disease.

In the U.S. with the massive proliferation of junk food and fast food chains and the epidemic of obesity; there is reason to worry earlier and harder. I read a few months ago about an 11 year old dying of a heart attack. Heart attacks in the younger population (let's say in their 30's and early 40's) tend to be more massive with a higher death rate.

CHF has increased tremendously as medicine saves more lives from heart attacks but leaves more people living with a damaged organ.

One interesting new series is at Heart Failure.

This is an accessible and informative article. I have fought CHF for over 11 years. Since in 1994 they prognosticated a life span of 1 or 3, maybe 5 years; that ain't bad. But I would prefer more time. I would prefer to be healthy. I would prefer a world without terrorists. We deal with what is and, with enough warnings, perhaps some people won't make the same mistake of waiting too long to call for help.

Article Author: Howard Dratch

Howard writes on science, books, movies and news for Blogcritics and on his own blogs from the border of North and Central America.

Visit Howard Dratch's author page — Howard Dratch's Blog