Mention the term "heart disease" and most people picture an overweight, middle-aged man. Yet the reality is that heart disease is the number one killer of women in North America, accounting for a third of all deaths in women and far surpassing the prevalence of breast cancer.

 Saving Women’s Hearts (Wiley / February 2010 / $16.95) educates women on how to reduce their risk, encouraging them to become proactive in guarding their heart health and being attuned to symptoms that their doctors may overlook. 

 Written by a cardiologist and a pharmacist, Saving Women’s Hearts addresses both the conventional medical approach and the role of natural medicine.  Martha Gulati (MD, MS, FACC, FAHA) and Sherry Torkos (BSc Phm) have teamed up to write a comprehensive guide for all women, discussing how stress, sleep, family history, and exercise all impact one’s risk for heart disease.

 While the stats can be frightening, the good news is that most risk factors for heart disease are modifiable, meaning they can be changed. Gulati and Torkos show women how to do just that, and lower their risk.