Track Your Plaque

This book and its author are at the forefront of a revolution in heart health care. It contains an incredibly extensive and thorough discussion of the state of the art of preventive cardiology as of 2004, when it was written. (The author maintains a web site with even more up-to-date information as well as a blog with almost daily postings on new developments.) Most of the explanation and advice is still way ahead of the way cardiology practitioners interact with patients today in most major medical centers. The book is written in plain English and an engaging style, and makes the technical concepts easily understood, even to people (like me) with no medical background. The author advocates the use of non-invasive, low-radiation, widely available heart scans to determine the extent of coronary plaque. If plaque is found, he next explains the use of new cholesterol tests that analyze cholesterol in more detail than standard tests. Finally, he explains what to do to correct the abnormalities the detailed analysis may uncover. The book will be of most interest to people who are willing to take control of their health and who may even be willing to challenge their doctors to catch up with recent advances in the diagnosis and treatment of coronary artery disease. The book is bluntly critical of the traditional cardiology strategies employed today in most hospitals and cardiology practices. As noted by another reviewer, he does advocate taking some supplements, but also tells you which supplements he thinks are worthless, based on reviews of numerous studies and his own experience treating hundreds of patients. I found this book in my post-stent implant procedure investigation of the state of the art in heart disease treatment (I'm 50 years old). I wish I had found it and read it years earlier. I might have avoided having had the stent implanted to begin with. Thankfully, it's not too late to start applying the strategies he advocates. If you want to see the future of preventive heart medicine today, explained in understandable, practical terms and concepts, this is the book to get.

I am living proof that the program outlined in Dr. Davis's book really works! Eight years ago I was diagnosed with coronary disease through an EBT heart scan, despite low cholesterol, HDL, LDL, triglycerides, and ratio, plus a "health nut" lifestyle. I have been a patient of Dr. Davis's for the last five years. Following his program, I have been able to slow the development of plaque to the point that my risk of having a heart attack is very low. My family tree is filled with heart attack victims - my father had his first at 40 and was dead by 52 - and it is quite probable that I would have followed in his footsteps without the guidance of Dr. Davis and his Track Your Plaque program. As a registered nurse, I believe this program will change the course of medical treatment of coronary patients. As a patient, I'm extremely grateful that it came along before I ended up like my father. Cudos to you, Dr. Davis!

I found this book very interesting and an easy read despite it's topic, heart disease. Anyone who has had heart disease touch their family will find this book hard to put down. My grandfather, father and uncle all died from heart disease. My grandfather and father were diagnosed with the disease only AFTER suffering a heart attack. My uncle was found dead on the golf course, despite passing a stress test and being in "perfect health" just weeks prior to his death. Track Your Plaque shattered many of the myths associated with heart disease and answered several questions that have bothered me for years; How can you pass a stress test and then die from a heart attack? How can your cholesterol be normal or "under control" and still have a heart attack? Do I have to suffer the same fate as my father? This book is packed with information regarding the early detection of heart disease and it's hidden causes. This book was written for patients, but should be required reading for doctors.

Every doctor and every conventional test I took said my cholesterol was low (under 100) and my heart was fine even though my close relatives were dying of heart attack. Finally, my doctor put me on Lipitor just to shut me up. I had a heart scan out of curiousity and found I had plaque but nobody could tell me why. I followed the book's advice and had my lipoproteins tested along with my brother and son. Sure enough, we all had the same genetic blood disorder, something called Lp(a), that was causing heart attack in our family. Now we simply take niacin (a B vitamin) and it has greatly reduced the problem. I hate to accuse anyone of malpractice but every doctor and cardiologist should read this book. Perhaps my mother would still be alive if they did!