Most people are shocked to learn that over 250,000 women die every year of heart disease. (By comparison, breast cancer kills about 46,000.) Equally shocking is how outrageously underrepresented women have been in cardiac research. Even more alarming are recent findings about the medical bias in diagnosis and treatment of the condition in women, findings that characterized heart treatment for women as "too little, too late." In Women and Heart Disease, Dr. Edward.

Diethrich, renowned heart care expert and chief of cardiovascular surgery at the first freestanding clinic dedicated to heart disease, teams up with award-winning medical writer Carol Cohan to examine this bias and provide a course of action that can save women's lives. The book opens with a special self-diagnostic test women can take to assess their own risk and an explanation of women's unique warning signs of heart disease. The authors guide readers step-by-step.

Through diagnosis, which is often more problematic in women than in men. They examine all the treatment options for coronary heart disease, from drugs to surgery, as they relate specifically to women. Patients share their stories of coping with the psychological aspects of heart disease. An entire chapter is devoted to the benefits and risks of estrogen replacement therapy. Other conditions, such as mitral valve prolapse and variant angina, are also thoroughly discussed.

Finally the authors present the Diethrich Program for treatment and prevention of heart disease in women, based on twelve years of research and development at the prestigious Arizona Heart Institute. Women and Heart Disease will help readers understand their risk, ask the right questions, and form an effective partnership with their doctors. It is essential reading for women who want to take control of their health and fight a killer that needlessly claims so many.

Lives.