A Woman’s Guide to Saving Her Own LifeMellanie True Hills
Reviewed by Michelle Boucher-Ladd
Did you know that in The United States
two out of every five woman will die from heart disease? That’s 40% of
all women! One woman, Mellanie True Hills, who nearly died of a heart
attack has written a very informative guide on all things
cardiovascular. A Woman’s Guide to Saving Her Own Life not
only chronicles Mellanie’s and other woman’s experiences with heart
disease but also outlines everything from risk factors to healthy
solutions.
The book is broken down very nicely into three parts. Part One: Surviving
the Number One Killer outlines Mellanie’s experience with heart
disease and the changes she has made since having heart surgery. What
struck me about this section is, as awful as this may sound, a near
death experiences couldn’t have happened to a better person than
Mellanie True Hills. She is a wonderful spokes person for this cause.
As a former executive for companies such as J.C. Penney Company, Dell
Inc, and Cisco System she brings a powerful let’s get down to
business approach to stopping a killer. She is also well
organized. The book is written with lots of charts and tables that make
finding the information you need easy and can easily be shared as a
presentation with large groups of people. However, the most compelling
thing about this book is its passion for changing the lives of women.
Do you smoke? have diabetes? high blood pressure? high cholesterol? a
family history of heart disease? are you overweight? do you avoid
exercise? or are you under stress? All of these are risk factors for
heart disease. Part Two: What Every Woman Should Know About Heart
Disease outline these factors and also describes symptoms of stroke
and heart attack, as well as, what kinds of things you should be
discussing with your doctor and what test are available to you. While
many of us answered yes to more than one risk factor, some woman can
have a little as one to be susceptible to heart disease and it only
takes one symptom to have a heart attack or stroke. This is by far the
most important and straight forward part of the book.
Part Three: Designing Your Plan to Save Your Own Life is
a section that is really up to you to decide what you can use and what
you can’t. It examines healthy eating and what diets are out there. It
was interesting to see comparisons amongst the Weight Watchers, South
Beach, Atkins, and other popular diets. This section also looks at
exercise and stress management as well as other neglected aspects of
women’s lives such as rest and relaxation.
Over all A Woman’s Guide to Saving Her Own Life is a well
written, easy to read, very informative book that makes a wonderful
reference. I think it is the type of book you can look at again and
again and find something new each time. It is also a book you should
share with your mother, sister, daughter, or best friend, and maybe
even your husband. For more information about this book and others you
can go to www.mellaniehills.com