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Haider Warraich
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State of the Heart: Exploring the History, Science, and Future of Cardiac Disease Kindle Edition

by Haider Warraich (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars 97 ratings
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In State of the Heart, Dr. Haider Warraich takes readers inside the ER, inside patients' rooms, and inside the history and science of cardiac disease.

State of the Heart traces the entire arc of the heart, from the very first time it was depicted on stone tablets, to a future in which it may very well become redundant. While heart disease has been around for a while, the type of heart disease people have, why they have it, and how it’s treated is changing. Yet, the golden age of heart science is only just beginning. And with treatments of heart disease altering the very definitions of human life and death, there is no better time to look at the present and future of heart disease, the doctors and nurses who treat it, the patients and caregivers who live with it, and the stories they hold close to their chests.

More people die of heart disease than any other disease in the world and when any form of heart disease progresses, it can result in the development of heart failure. Heart failure affects millions and can affect anyone at anytime, a child recovering from a viral infection, a woman who has just given birth or a cancer patient receiving chemotherapy. Yet new technology to treat heart failure is fundamentally changing just what it means to be human. Mechanical pumps can be surgically sown into patients’ hearts and when patients with these pumps get really sick, sometimes they don’t need a doctor or a surgeon—they need a mechanic.

In State of the Heart, the journey to rid the world of heart disease is shown to be reflective of the journey of medical science at large. We are learning not only that women have as much heart disease as men, but that the type of heart disease women experience is diametrically different from that in men. We are learning that heart disease and cancer may have more in common than we could have imagined. And we are learning how human evolution itself may have led to the epidemic of heart disease. In understanding how our knowledge of the heart evolved, State of the Heart traces the twisting and turning road that science has taken—filled with potholes and blind turns—all the way back to its very origin.

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  1. Print length
    343 pages
  2. Language
    English
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  4. Publisher
    St. Martin's Press
  5. Publication date
    July 23, 2019
  6. File size
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Editorial Reviews

Review

"With this delightful book, written with warmth, wisdom and humor, Warraich keeps you engaged and entertained through hundreds of pages. It’s a 'must read' volume, and a wonderful addition to the literature of medicine."―Siddhartha Mukherjee, New York Times bestselling author of The Gene and The Emperor of All Maladies

"State of the Heart provides an insightful look into the diseases of our most hallowed organ. I recommend it to anyone who wants to learn more about the pump that keeps us alive."―Sandeep Jauhar, New York Times bestselling author of Doctored and Heart: A History

"Dr. Warraich's book is filled with fascinating historical and contemporary details about the heart, as well as of the men and women who have helped shape our understanding of it."―Damon Tweedy, New York Times bestselling author of Black Man in a White Coat

"A deep immersion in the world of cardiac disease. Warraich does a yeoman's job explaining the various physiological aspects of the heart and its many influences...but where he shines is in introducing anecdotal evidence and vivid stories to add color to the raw data. An expansive, well-tempered profile of our most metaphorical organ."―Kirkus Reviews

"State of the Heart reminds us that we are all candidates for heart disease. Information can protect us. There are few more entertaining ways to gain that knowledge than by reading Warraich’s splendid memoirs of a career in Cardiology." ―Dr. Stephen Westaby, author of Open Heart and Fragile Lives

“What struck me about State of the Heart is the state of the author―how a young cardiologist could have such an astute, wise perspective of the field and be an extraordinary storyteller.”―Eric Topol, author of Deep Medicine and The Patient Will See You Now

"Haider Warraich brings academic rigor and a writer's empathy to his exploration of the mysteries, both literal and metaphorical, of the human heart. State of the Heart is a welcome, openhearted addition to the histories of this complex and challenging subject."―Mimi Swartz, author of Ticker and Power Failure

"State of the Heart is intense and both inspiring and massively uncomfortable. It could not be otherwise. ―San Francisco Review of Books

About the Author

Dr. Haider Warraich graduated from medical school in Pakistan in 2009. He did his residency in internal medicine at Harvard Medical School’s Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, one of the main teaching hospitals of Harvard Medical School. He is currently a fellow in cardiology at Duke University Medical Center. His medical and Op Ed pieces have appeared in many media outlets including the New York Times, The Atlantic, the Wall Street Journal,Slate, and the LA Times among others.

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B07J4ZPM2Q
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ St. Martin's Press; 1st edition (July 23, 2019)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ July 23, 2019
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 2899 KB
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 343 pages
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars 97 ratings

About the author

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Haider Warraich

Haider Warraich

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As a physician, writer, and researcher, Haider Warraich wears many hats. He writes frequently for the New York Times and the Washington Post, and has more than 120 peer reviewed research papers including multiple papers in the New England Journal of Medicine and the Journal of the American Medical Association.

In his upcoming book, The Song of Our Scars: The Untold Story of Pain (Basic Books, April 2022), Warraich offers a bold reexamination of the nature of pain, not as a simple physical sensation, but as a cultural experience. He has previously written the books Modern Death: How Medicine Changed the End of Life (2017) and State of the Heart: Exploring the History, Science and Future of Cardiac Disease (2017).

Dr Warraich completed internal medicine and cardiology training at Harvard Medical School and Duke University and is the Associate Director of Heart Failure at the VA Boston Healthcare System, Associate Physician at Brigham and Women's Hospital and Assistant Professor at Harvard Medical School. He has appeared on CNN, Fox, CBS, PBS, and on NPR shows like Fresh Air with Terry Gross and The Diane Rehm Show.

Customer reviews

4.6 out of 5 stars
4.6 out of 5
97 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Nasir Ahmad
5.0 out of 5 stars A great read
Reviewed in the United States on August 28, 2019
Verified Purchase
This is one of the best book ever on the Heart....must for all medical students and those interested in learning about this

most fascinating organ. Written with absolute clarity and full of interesting facts.

Nasir Ahmad Md.,FRCS(C).,FACS
7 people found this helpful
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Frederick S. Goethel
5.0 out of 5 stars A Book Most People Should Read
Reviewed in the United States on October 8, 2019
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I don't use that tag line very often, but with cardiac disease so prevalent in society, it is important for people to know more about the heart and how it sends signals to you when something is not right. An example are women: heart attacks in women often present differently than what we are used to hearing about pain radiating from the chest, down the arm and possibly into the jaw. Why this happens is unknown, but it does and if more people knew about this, then the more women might get treatment early enough to make a big difference.

The author present the information in an easy to read, yet at times, scientific manner. No matter where you read in the book, you will pick up new and important information. I know, as I have been a heart patient since 5 days after my 30th birthday. And while I had a number of doctors blow me off as too young to have heart problems, I found one superb cardiologist that listened and was just concerned enough to put me through a number of tests that revealed all of my coronary arteries were at least 90% blocked with some close to 100% gone. And it saved my life. That was some 33 years ago and although I still have heart problems, I no longer live in fear of dropping dead at any moment.

The number of issues the doctor discusses is way too long for me to list here, but heart failure is explained, as are heart attacks, treatments and just about anything else you could think of. It was a little light on the future, but the author isn't a clairvoyant and can't see into what has not been discovered…yet.

I would highly recommend this book to the public, but particularly if your family has a history of heart disease. You may pick up a few new ideas, and it might save someone's life!
12 people found this helpful
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Texas Stronger
4.0 out of 5 stars Mostly a great book with some author digressions.
Reviewed in the United States on October 23, 2019
Verified Purchase
I wanted a ken burns style history similar to the cancer Emperor book. I did learn a lot about the history of heart disease. Unfortunately, my neighbor across the street has a heart attack during 3/4ths of this book. Fortunately, he survived a double bypass. I was able to talk to him in precise terms based on what he learned from his doctors. I think some of the patient storyline' could be more developed. Also the digressions into fake news, internet knowledge, religion bashing, etc. were distracting. Overall I am glad I read the book.
5 people found this helpful
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CDubs
5.0 out of 5 stars Fantastic Book
Reviewed in the United States on September 19, 2019
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The historical view and walk through of cv disease and the stories along the way made this book a great read. I heard about it on NPR via Terry Gross who interviewed Dr Warriach. His personal story and the thought he put into the book were felt, and I really just couldn't put it down. Was a great read and I learned something.
7 people found this helpful
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Wallace J. Hartshorn
5.0 out of 5 stars Science, history, education, and motivation
Reviewed in the United States on August 24, 2019
Verified Purchase
The author engagingly combines science and history, two of my favorite topics, to create a book that is educational, eye opening, and a great source of motivation to improve my eating habits and get more exercise. Along the way, he provides useful advice, sure, but he doesn’t just tell you to do something (e.g. reduce sodium to lower blood pressure); he explains why and how that is helpful (a high concentration of sodium fools the kidneys into thinking there is too little blood in the body, so it signals for more blood to be created to lower that concentration), and does so in a way that keeps me interested and and wanting to learn more. Furthermore, the book is very recent, featuring numerous examples of current studies that overturn what was believed just a few years ago.
10 people found this helpful
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Scott H.
5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful!
Reviewed in the United States on September 25, 2019
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Important, informative and compassionate work. The author had serious credentials and is a wonderful writer!
2 people found this helpful
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Niraj
4.0 out of 5 stars Easy Read
Reviewed in the United States on September 30, 2019
Excellent Book. Witty and easy to read. Not as historical and textbook like as Emperor of Maladies but can be finished in one seating. Few diagrams and more chronological history would have been more helpful.
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Janet
5.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating: educational and very enjoyable to read
Reviewed in the United States on July 23, 2019
Wow! Fascinating book! When I started it, I wondered how interesting a whole book about the heart, written by a cardiologist, could be. How much was there to say about the heart that ordinary people could understand, much less enjoy reading? Well, I couldn’t have been more wrong. I was engrossed in this from start to finish and felt disappointed when I realized it was ending.
I expected to have to skim over parts where it became too technical, or to find some parts dry, but this too was dead wrong. He was able to explain everything so clearly that it was easy to understand, and I have absolutely no medical background and am embarrassingly ignorant about human anatomy.

By telling vivid stories about a wide variety of unusual situations, he was able to keep me riveted. He starts with the history of cardiology, from the Pharoahs of Egypt and their treatments for heart disease, and on to the present day, with all the amazing medical advances of the recent years. He explains how the heart works, what heart failure is, what techniques are available or in development, how things go terribly wrong, or surprisingly right and what he foresees for the future.

He is from Pakistan and quite a good example of how immigrants enrich our country. He came here with very little, went to medical school, and through many years of hard work, developed skills that have saved thousands of lives. He has also written this educational and entertaining book, for which I thank him.

Very highly recommended.

Note: I received an advance copy of the ebook from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
10 people found this helpful
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