There is a vast amount of health information online. Much of it is quite good. Some of it is not. How does one determine the difference? If the reader is dealing with heart disease, then this book will help. The authors’ intent is to provide quality, accurate, vetted resources for heart health information.
This book has eight chapters dealing with different aspects of heart disease. Each chapter is independent of the other, and the chapters can be read in any order. The introductory chapter discusses ways to locate and evaluate information. The second chapter discusses how the heart functions. It has brief essays on the various components of the heart, on the electrical systems of the heart and the fetal heart. The third chapter covers specific heart diseases and disorders. It is the largest portion of the volume with detailed discussions of the various disorders. The fourth chapter looks at congenital heart diseases. The next chapter looks at tests and treatments, while the following chapter looks at risk factors and prevention. The seventh chapter covers quality of life issues for those living with heart disease, while the last chapter considers women’s heart diseases, which are somewhat different than male’s. There is a glossary and a very comprehensive index.
Each topic introduced in each chapter has a brief introduction to the topic followed by well-selected, evidence-based resources. Some topics include references to books; all have references to electronic resources. Those URLs are long and often complicated. The authors have included many tips for getting to the correct item.
The Medical Library Association Guide to Finding out About Heart Disease contains a wealth of good information and will be extremely useful as a guide to finding reliable resources on heart disease.
