Overcoming Hypertension

by J. California Cooper, J. California Cooper

Like a time bomb ticking away, hypertension  builds quietly, gradually, placing unbearable strain on  the body until it explodes--in heart attack,  stroke, kidney failure, arterial disease, even death.  But the disease does not have to progress that  way. Here, in the third volume of the highly  acclaimed Preventive Medicine Program,  Dr. Kenneth H. Cooper, one of the nations foremost  experts in the field of preventive medicine,  presents a medically sound, reassuringly simple program  that help you lower you blood pressure--and keep  it down, often without drugs. Overcoming  Hypertension gives  you:

--The latest facts on how cholesterol, cigarette  smoking, obesity, and stress affect coronary risk  levels.

--Your high blood pressure  risk profile, with newly devised charts for men  and women.

--A complete fitness  program that lets you choose the sport that works for  you. Plus a unique illustrated guide to  aqua-aerobics.

--Tips on talking to your  doctor that will help you become an active  participant in your own recovery.

--A  guide to anti-hypertensive drugs--the most up-to-date  list of medications, their recommended daily  doses, and ways to minimize side  effects.

--Three distinct dietary programs, complete with  menus, recipes, nutritional charts, healthy cooking  tips, and much more.

--Take  charge of your health and well-being with  Overcoming  Hypertension.

From the Paperback edition.

704 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1990

About the author

J. California Cooper first found acclaim as a playwright. The author of seventeen plays, she was named Black Playwright of the Year in 1978. It was through her work in the theater that she caught the attention of acclaimed poet and novelist Alice Walker. Encouraged by Walker to turn her popular storytelling skills to fiction, Cooper wrote her first collection of short stories, A Piece of Mine, in 1984. Called "rich in wisdom and insight" and "a book that's worth reading," A Piece of Mine introduced Cooper's trademark style: her intimate and energetic narration, sympathetic yet sometimes troubled characters, and the profound moral messages that underlie seemingly simple stories. Two more story collections followed on the heels of A Piece of Mine. In 1986 came Homemade Love, winner of an American Book Award, and, in 1987, Some Soul to Keep.

Reviews

[Peter Farness · Rating 2 out of 5]

A difficult pill to swallow for sure. I know that Dr. Cooper is pretty much a legend and helped ignite the whole aerobics movement, but I'm not in love with his presentation here. It's pretty fragmented. I don't even know how much he really wrote himself. I don't know how much of this he wrote himself. The chapter on blood pressure cuffs was pretty much cribbed an ENTIRE Consumer Reports article. The book is heavily reliant on a reference book for doctors The Management of Hypertension, by Norman Kaplan. I haven't read Cooper's other books in his Preventative Medicineseries, such as Overcoming Osteoporosis. But I can assume that they're not too great either if his Cooper Institute just pumped 'em out like they did this one.
I must admit that there is a method to the madness. He gives you all the pieces. The information is there. It's potentially still a good reference. The nutritional data tables are all based on theories about saturated fat that were popular around 1990. I get the basic gist: You want to cut back on processed foods. I am equally terrible in the kitchen as I was in the chemistry lab, but at the end of the day all you can do is do your best. That's all you can ask. Ultimately, this could have been far more effective with better editing.