When I first entered the medical field 35 years ago, I was struck by the fact that we would diagnosis a complex problem but seldom properly educate the patient and his or her family about their disease and how to take care of it. Even when we took extra time to educate patients, because of the stress of hearing their diagnosis, they would frequently come back without remembering what we told them.

For 30 years, patients have told me I should write a book on the information I had just delivered to them and their families. Your Heart, Treat It Like You Love It is a response to those requests. This book is a sincere effort to meet the educational challenge that has quadrupled as our population has increased in numbers and size, and as our tools of treatment have become more sophisticated but more difficult to understand, and our medical resources have become incredibly strained.

As you become more familiar with your condition—understanding what it is, its cause, and its treatment—you feel more comfortable proactively working with your doctor in treating your condition. We all learn complex data by reading, thinking, and then more reading. This is doubly true when it comes to learning about your medical problem.

Your Heart, Treat It Like You Love It is a complete resource for almost every type of disease of the heart and blood vessels. This book is written for you the patient—or the "pre-patient"—as we will all be a patient at some time in our lives, usually when we are most vulnerable.

—Gerry Maddoux, M.D.

Dr. Gerry L. Maddoux is a board-certified cardiologist who has practiced cardiology for the last 30 years. Involved primarily in interventional cardiology, he has become increasingly interested in patient education for prevention and care of heart disease. Your Heart, Treat It Like You Love It is the result of requests by hundreds of patients that he write a book on the information he provides them to help keep them informed on their conditions and care.

Dr. Maddoux is a Fellow of the American College of Cardiology, American College of Chest Physicians, a Member of Alpha-Omega-Alpha Honorary Society, and has published articles in medical journals on unique cardiac situations and clinical research information. He has brought these cardiac experiences together in Your Heart, Treat It Like You Love It and 60, Now What? in an effort to combat the rise of heart disease and to educate us on living better and longer as we get older.

If you are interested in contacting Dr. Maddoux for an interview or a speaking engagement, you may email him at info@lovingyourheart.com.