Prevent a Second Heart Attack: 8 Foods, 8 Weeks to Reverse Heart Disease

by Janet Bond Brill

Reverse Your Heart Disease in Just Eight Weeks by Harnessing the Power of the Mediterranean DietIf you’re one of the 13 million Americans who have survived a heart attack or been diagnosed with heart disease, Dr. Janet Bond Brill offers a delicious and foolproof plan that can lower your risk of a second heart attack by up to 70 percent.  Inspired by the heart-healthy Mediterranean diet, the Prevent a Second Heart Attack Plan is based on satisfaction, rather than deprivation.   Backed by cutting edge research, Dr. Brill    • Why the Mediterranean diet is the gold standard of heart-healthy eating    • How “good carbs” such as oatmeal and popcorn lower bad cholesterol, prevent high blood pressure, and control your weight    • The science behind eating fish for heart health    • Why having a glass of red wine with dinner is great for your heart—and which wines are the best choices    • The easiest, most delicious daily habit that will cut your heart attack risk Packed with every tool you need to eat your way to better heart health--including daily checklists, a complete two-week eating plan, and dozens of mouthwatering recipes to suit every meal, taste, and budget—Prevent a Second Heart Attack provides you with the knowledge, skills, and confidence to live long and enjoy the good life, the heart healthy way. JANET BOND BRILL, Ph.D., R.D., LDN, is a diet, nutrition, and fitness expert who has appeared on national television.  She is the author of Cholesterol 10 Simple Steps to Lower Your Cholesterol In 4 Weeks Without Prescription Drugs, and specializes in cardiovascular disease prevention.  Dr. Brill lives in Pennsylvania with her husband and three children.

449 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2011

About the author

Janet Bond Brill was born and raised in New York City, the daughter of a prominent stage and screen actor and a psychoanalyst. After graduating from Walden School at sixteen and earning her B.S. in Biology from the University of Miami, she spent seven years as a flight attendent for Pan American World Airways before returning to academia.
Dr. Brill holds a Ph.D. in Exercise Science from the University of Miami, along with two master’s degrees—one in Exercise Science from the University of Miami and another in Nutrition Science from Florida International University. She is the author of four nationally recognized health books, including Cholesterol Down and Blood Pressure Down, published by Random House, as well as numerous scientific papers and articles for lay publications.
After thirty-seven years of knowing and loving her mother-in-law, Holocaust survivor Edna Stefania Brill, Dr. Brill moved from health writing to historical memoir. Little Edna’s War (pub date 1/27/26) records Edna’s extraordinary experiences for future generations—her first memoir and her most important work.
Dr. Brill lives in Pennsylvania with her husband Sam, Edna’s son. Together they have three children—Rachel, Mia, and Jason—and two grandchildren. In recent years, Dr. Brill has also written and published three children’s books for her grandchildren, bringing imagination and wonder to bedtime stories that bridge generations.

Reviews

[Kevin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well expressed and backed up by literally hundreds of research projects this book could be a life changer. Specific instructions for those with greater risk of heart issues.

[Eileen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Even if you do not have any cardiac issues you should read Prevent a Second Heart Attack: 8 Foods, 8 Weeks to Reverse Heart Disease so you do not become it's next victim.

According to the American Heart Association roughly 1.5 million people will have a heart attack this year and 38 % will die from it. Those are really upsetting numbers but scientific evidence shows that more than 80% of heart attacks can be prevented by lifestyle changes in both men and women. This is where the book comes in. The author provides guidelines that can help prevent your first heart attack and others after. The book provides a simple and easy to follow lifestyle plan (diet and exercise) to help heart attack survivors to live longer.

General Lifestyle Advice: (We could all use a little advice in our lives)

1. Eat a heart- healthy diet. ( Explained fully in the book)
2. Reduce your stree in your life.
3. Become physically Active. (remotes do not count)
4. Don't smoke.
5. Achieve and maintain a healthy weight.
6. Take your medications if prescribed.

I have always known that fish, nuts, vegetables and red wine has always been good for you but the book explains how they help the body reverse heart disease. There are great recipes and two weeks of meals plans to assist you in implementing the program. The author has written an excellent article about the importance of walnuts in your diet. You can read it here

While reading the book you will learn-

1. Why the Mediterranean diet is one of the best diets to follow.
2. What is LDL AND HDL and how it affects our bodies.
3. How "Good Carbs" such as oatmeal, popcorn and whole grains reduce our bad cholesterol (LDL), prevent high blood pressure and control your weight.
4. Why fish is important for hearth health.
5. Why having a glass of red wine with dinner is good for your heart.
6. How exercise helps to increase your good cholesterol (HDL).
7. How Dark chocolate helps protect our heart ( 1oz, 70% cocoa)

My Thoughts-


The books was fantastic, easy to read, informative and complete. As a Registered Nurse, I am familiar with the topics discussed in the book but in reading the book, I learned so much more about heart health. All of the information discussed was presented in a way that was concise and easy to understand. I especially liked the chapter that discussed what the underlying cause of heart disease-Atherosclerosis and how it affects the arteries. When I was growing up, my family always ate food rich in butter and creams unaware of what we were doing to our bodies. Now my family watches our fat and sugar intake to prevent heart disease and diabetes. The book was well researched and the information was up to date. I recommend the book to everyone to help them protect their heart.
(Reviewed by Eileen- Melissa's mom)

[Darcy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am reading this because my father in law recently had a heart attack. I began reading the book to find ways that I could help my mother in law plan their meals, but I now feel inspired to make changes to how Chris and I eat as well. Heart disease is the number one killer of Americans, and heart disease is caused not only by what we eat that is bad for us, but what we do not eat that is good for us (and a sedentary lifestyle). This book is very current (published 2011) and is packed with the latest research into diet as it relates to heart disease. It just so happens that the Mediterranean regions have one of the lowest levels of heart disease in the world, because they eat very little meat and animal products such as butter and dairy, but they eat fish, a ton of vegetables, extra virgin olive oil, legumes, greens, fruit, etc. Thus the current recommendations for both preventing and treating heart disease is a Mediterranean type diet. Excellent checklist-type guidelines in this book. Worth reading for the details of why certain foods are so powerful in preventing disease (for example, olive oil in general has no preventative or healing power, only extra virgin olive oil does - the first pressing of the fruit; if you don't actually read the book for the details and instead just skim summaries, you will miss important information and may not actually be eating the specific things in the specific ways that are proven to prevent and heal).

[Robin Lipsey · Rating 5 out of 5]

It has great information and an easy plan to follow.

[Christine Mathieu · Rating 3 out of 5]

I prefer Janet Bond Brill's book on high blood pressure. It taught me that 800 mg of sodium are enough per day and ever since I'm trying to make sure that I don't get more than 800 mg.

[Galicius · Rating 2 out of 5]

I question the advice to add dried fruit to my diet: figs, raisins, dates, prunes. After introducing these my Hemoglobin level at my next blood test six months later increased to Prediabetes level which never happened before. I omitted these from my diet and am interested to see what the next test will show. This paragraph was added to my review in February 2020. I will update this information here in 3-4 months.

The Mediterranean diet advice is mostly solid but the information is widely available. I disagree however with some of the author’s recommendations. Dr. Maya Adam, MD, Sanford University, advises in her course “Child Nutrition and Cooking” against using nonstick cooking spray as a petroleum product. The author recommends it in one of her recipes on page 273.

Another ingredient she widely recommends throughout is soy. Perhaps this book is dated (2011) but the soy that is available in our markets is 99% genetically modified and its wide use is disputed. I doubt it is the same soy that the Japanese use in their diet, certainly not the soy eaten by residents of Okinawa “Blue Zone” known for their longevity.