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2 comments about An Emotionally Normal Heart Attack.

1. Presumably, this book, written by a cardiologist who suffered a heart attack,should enlighten the layman with a dual perspective, doctor and patient simultaneously. It does not.

   By virtue of his profession, Dr. Tenney knew what cards were to be dealt him in diagnosis and treament of his myocardial infarction. The rest of us have no such luxury. We are surprised and frightened at each step of the healing process. I had hoped this cardiologist would express enlightenment, "So this is what it's like being a patient!" He does not. Sadly, the book results in a kind of confessional,how he denied his own heart attack, how he had not followed standard medical advice about prevention, and so on. The book sheds no new light on heart disease, treatment, or recovery. In his chapter titled "Empathy", he claims he now has empathy with his patients, yet gives no examples of such. In fact, throughout the book, he mentions no patient other than himself, the text heavily populated with the pronoun "I", or "my heart attack" and "my feelings."

   No doubt Dr. Tenney felt better after writing this confessional, but your money is better spent on other popular books about heart disease. It merits a single star.




2. This book provides the rare opportunity to read about both sides of the stethoscope. Dr. Tenney, as a cardiologist, shares his own enlightenment from the surprise of having a heart attack. Best stated in his own words in his chapter on Denial, "...I needed and longed for an explanation of my lab results, and my blood pressure. Like anyone else, I was no longer a doctor, just another middle-aged individual lying on the emergency room table experiencing a heart attack."

   He states his objective in chapter 17, "What have I done in the past 26 months that produced a normal electrocardiogram?". His book details his answer, and this answer is important to everyone with a tendency towards heart disease.

   His book climaxes, as it should, with a chapter title Recommendations where he states emphatically, "Be aware that health is foremost a personal responsibility, not the physician's or the medical system's." Dr. Tenney wants the patient to be empowered; to be in charge; to be attuned to life's signals.

   Dr. Tenney confirms what I and all the patients in my Cardiac Rehab program have learned: a cardiac event is a gift, and each survivor's life is permanently changed by such an event, and those who do as Dr. Tenney has done, live longer, healthier, and richer lives.

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