cover image Heartplan: A Complete Program for Total Fitness of Heart & Mind

Heartplan: A Complete Program for Total Fitness of Heart & Mind

David Copen. McGraw-Hill Companies, $16.95 (218pp) ISBN 978-0-07-054205-1

According to the authors, nearly 42 million people suffer from heart disease, ""the plague of the 20th century,'' and their sensibly written, accessible and solid book deals with the physical and emotional requirements for good health. Copen, a cardiologist and professor at Yale Medical School, and Rubinstein, a psychiatrist (The Complete Book of Cosmetic Facial Surgery, combine skills to offer sound, step-by-step advice on ways to avoid or mitigate heart diseasehow to assess one's behavior and develop new priorities and goals, diffuse potentially tense circumstances, develop a healthful diet. The authors isolate Type A behavior, Sisyphus syndrome and emotional entrapment as ``emotional land mines'' that ``often cause prolonged and potentially deadly responses.'' Included as well is information on exercise, living with a heart patient, enjoying a healthy sex life with heart disease and a frank discussion on heart surgery. Prevention Book Club selection. (October 6)