By Nancy Dickenson

Heart disease is the leading killer of American women. According to the American Heart Association, more than 500,000 women in the United States die of cardiovascular disease each year, more than the next seven causes of death combined.

The symptoms of heart disease and signs of an impending heart attack are not the same in men and women, and once diagnosed, women often do not receive appropriate treatment. Because cardiovascular disease is largely preventable, women who understand their unique symptoms, risk factors and treatment methods could be saving their own lives.

A new book called “How to Keep from Breaking Your Heart: What Every Woman Needs to Know about Cardiovascular Disease,” by cardiologist Barbara H. Roberts, contains up-to-date information about preventing and healing women’s heart disease.

The first section of the book focuses on prevention and identification of risk factors. Then Roberts discusses specific heart diseases, diagnostic tests and treatments. The third part of the book examines gender bias in medicine and its impact on women’s health, along with new and emerging treatments for heart disease. A chapter on the history of medicine is interesting but not particularly germane to the topic.

Published earlier this year, the book contains the latest information on hormone replacement therapy and its relationship to cardiovascular disease.

By clearly explaining the basics of cardiac function and disease, Roberts empowers women by emphasizing that prevention is within their control. That makes the book compelling reading. A glossary and a list of both online and offline resources at the end of the book are also useful.

Not quite as new (published in 2002) but still a popular book full of valuable information regarding women and heart disease is “Women Are Not Small Men: Life-Saving Strategies for Preventing and Healing Heart Disease in Women,” by Dr. Nieca Goldberg. This book is also available for borrowing at the Stanford Health Library.

Goldberg believes that misinformation keeps women from getting appropriate care for heart disease, and she does a good job of outlining how to remedy the situation. For instance, in the chapter on diagnosis, she provides action plans and questions doctors will ask to prepare women for their examinations. She organizes information on risk factors into “the facts” and “your next step.” Throughout the book, Goldberg stresses the value of exercise, dietary modification, not smoking and stress management in the prevention and management of heart disease in women.

Dr. Robert Robbins, director of the Stanford Institute of Cardiovascular Medicine, is scheduled to speak on “Understanding Cardiovascular Disease in Women” at 7 p.m., Sept. 23, in the Fairchild Auditorium of the Stanford Medical Center. This presentation is open to the public and free of charge. For more information or to register, call 498-7826.

The books reviewed can be obtained at any of the three Stanford Health Library branches: at the Stanford Shopping Center, on the third floor of Stanford Hospital and in the new Stanford Cancer Center. For more information or assistance with research, call 725-8400.

Nancy Dickenson is the manager of library services at the Stanford Health Library.