The Heart Speaks: A Cardiologist Reveals the Secret Language of Healing
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Every day, 2,600 Americans die of cardiovascular disease — and despite remarkable interventional and surgical procedures, over 650,000 new heart attacks occur annually. In The Heart Speaks, Dr. Mimi Guarneri reveals groundbreaking new research that the heart is a multilayered, complex organ, possessing intelligence, memory, and decision-making abilities independent from the mind — and that healing the heart can have more to do with healing the mind and soul than we ever knew.From childhood in a family riddled with heart disease to a medical career facing the pounding heartbeats of cardiac emergencies, Dr. Guarneri draws us into the intimate moments of life and death, and leads us on a riveting exploration of the heart's many mysteries. Through her compelling memoir we see that it is only by knowing the whole heart — its mental, emotional, spiritual, and universal aspects — that we can truly heal. Publishers Weekly A lyrical writer as well as a cardiologist, the author, founder and medical director of the Scripps Center for Integrative Medicine, describes how she learned that beyond the power of our most sophisticated medical equipment is a physician's humanity-"the listening ear, the healing touch, the devices of healers throughout time." Guarneri became highly accomplished at angioplasty and stent procedures, but came to realize that those she treated could also be helped by proper nutrition and stress reduction techniques such as yoga and visualization. She became committed to practices such as those of Dean Ornish, with whom she has worked, to reverse coronary disease with diet, exercise, meditation and support groups. Guarneri studied the link between depression and heart disease, and opened her mind to the validity of other alternative treatments, including energy healing, visualization before and after surgery, and spiritual practices. What is particularly attractive about this chronicle is the author's graceful integration of her own story-the destructive effect on her of stress and overwork-into those of her patients. Guarneri deplores the financial constraints that prevent doctors from spending time with patients and that many physicians have developed "a mechanic's mentality," focused on fixing rather than getting to know their patients. (Feb. 7) Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.
ContentsIntroduction: Biography of the HeartPart 1: The Myth of the Mechanical Pump1. The Unexamined Heart2. A Heart, a Spleen, a Leaking ValvePart 2: The Language of the Heart3. The Fog of Stress4. Echoes of Anger5. The Landscape of Depression6. Sacred Revelations7. The Persistence of GriefPart 3: Beyond the Physical Heart8. The Little Brain9. Universal Heart10. Toward Compassionate MedicineNotesFurther ReadingAcknowledgments
