The Great American Heart Hoax: Lifesaving Advice Your Doctor Should Tell You about Heart Disease Prevention (But Probably Never Will) [Paperback]

It's a rare book that can be both horrifying and empowering at the same time. "The Great American Heart Hoax," by renowned cardiologist Dr. Michael Ozner, is one of those books.

"Heart Hoax" is horrifying because it reveals many troubling facts about America's cardiac surgery industry. As a longtime medical advocate and critic of our healthcare system, I've known that too many heart surgeries are being performed in America; I just didn't know how many too many! In his book, Dr. Ozner reveals that, of the more than 1.5 million angioplasties and coronary bypass surgeries performed annually in the U.S., fully 70-90% are not only unnecessary, but are also detrimental -- and in some cases, even cause death. I knew that many diagnostic tests expose patients to radiation, but I didn't know that the 64-slice CT scan -- so often used to detect clogged arteries -- gives a patient the equivalent of the radiation from FIVE HUNDRED X-RAYS. And while I had known that the simple cholesterol test, which doctors routinely use as a predictor of cardiac risk, does NOT give the full picture, I did not know that it correctly predicts risk IN ONLY 40% of cases -- AND that there is another blood test (which doctors normally do NOT use), which can correctly predict cardiac risk in 90% of patients. All of these facts -- and more -- add up to what Dr. Ozner refers to as the "Great American Heart Hoax." The truth, writes Dr. Ozner, is that invasive cardiologists HAVE KNOWN many of these "dirty secrets" for years, but have chosen to ignore them, in the unholy goal of "following the money."

So, why do I say that this book is also empowering? Because, the exposé takes up only one part of the book. In the second half, Dr. Ozner gives us the "good news," by laying out his solution: a 10-step prevention program he has used successfully with his patients for nearly 30 years. It combines the Mediterranean Diet -- with lots of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, fish and healthy fats -- with nutritional supplements, exercise, stress reduction, and lots more. After reading this book, you will know how to prevent a heart attack and, if you have already had one, how to greatly reduce your chances of ever having another.

This is a very important book. I cannot recommend it more highly. I have been recommending it to every one of my friends and relatives who are at risk, as well as those who are already (perhaps wrongly) taking statin drugs preventatively. "The Great American Heart Hoax" shows us all a better way.

Julia Schopick
[...]

I'm a practicing Internist, Board certified with about 30 years experience. While I agree entirely that coronary disease can be reversed by a natural approach including a very low saturated fat diet, stress management and exercise, Dr. Ozner's ridiculing of the medical profession is to be, well, ridiculed. I recently saw a a lady on whom I did a stress test and found it to be grossly abnormal. Cardiac cath showed over 90% blockage of 2 vessels, and stenting was successfully done, resulting in complete opening of both vessels. If the cardiologists and I had recommended Dr. Ozner's lifestyle approach and she wound up with a heart attack and died we'd all have wound up in court, sued to our necks. A friend of mine had an abnormal stress test, 95% blockage in one major vessel, stented, and then had a normal stress test, for the first time in years.

The medical profession uses solid data in its work. Coronary bypasses have not been proven to be useless, as Dr. Ozner claims. Since the advent of stents, bypass work is now limited to blockages of the left main coronary artery (the widow maker, it is called) and multiple blockages that cannot possibly be stented. What Dr. Ozner is doing is subjecting the entire cardiology profession to needless ridicule, and his poor advice to patients to completely avoid stents or bypasses, amounts to poor judgment bordering on malpractice. It ought to be between a patient and his/her Cardiologists and Internists to make an approach to management.

Dr. Ozner's approach is not new. We need to combine the interventional strategies along with lifestyle changes. http://www.heartattackproof.com/ is Dr. Esselstyn's web site; he has shown dramatic reversals of coronary blockages with dietary intervention: severely limited animal and dairy fat intake. (he didn't talk about smoking cessation in his book, though) Dr. Dean Ornish has shown similar results also. Elimination of anger and hostility is an important part of management as well as smoking cessation.

I do recommend the work of Dr Ornish and Esselstyn and others, but Dr. Ozner's book is something I would have my patients avoid because I'm afraid they would decline a potentially life-saving procedure right when they need it. Yes he does cover the full spectrum of factors that contribute to heart disese, and yes, a mediterranean diet is very heart-healthy, but a chronically hostile person isn't going to get much benefit from it. So the approach to heart disease is most certainly multi-faceted, and a comprehensive approach is required. And intervention when needed is an essential part of heart disease management. I believe Dr. Ozner has picked out only the studies that show no benefit of bypasses or stents and not quoted the ones that do show benefit.

Raja Bhat

Once I started reading The Great American Heart Hoax, not only could I not put it down but I got angrier by the chapter. A little over a year ago I underwent a corporate cardio evaluation that included radiation scans. Heart Hoax helped me realize why these were needless and made me aware of my increased health risk from radiation; radiation accumulates and never leaves your body. I will think twice before having a virtual colonoscopy or other elective radiation procedure. I was also astounded that a $60 billion cardiovascular intervention industry has proof the majority of heart procedures is no better than bandages on a cut and worse, and often leads to a lower quality and significantly more costly life for the patient. Dr. Ozner presents an easy to read and amazing explanation on what is known today about cardiovascular health, and the effects your lifestyle plays in preventing or encouraging heart and other cardiovascular disease, particularly atherosclerosis. He then explains how anyone can significantly lower their risk and even reverse encroaching atherosclerosis simply by modifying their diet, which is explained in his 10-Step approach to heart and cardio health. Everyone should read this book, no matter what their age and physical condition. This book will save lives, but could also make a huge difference in the lives of millions of Americans who take it to heart (literally) and follow his advice. Thank you Dr. Ozner!

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