First published 2018
Our most essential organ sits at the center of both physical survival and emotional life. Cardiologist Sandeep Jauhar combines his clinical experience with historical discoveries to examine the heart from multiple angles. He profiles medical pioneers who took enormous risks to advance cardiac medicine, including Daniel Hale Williams, who completed the first documented heart surgery, and Wilson Greatbatch, whose accidental invention became the pacemaker. Jauhar draws from his own operating room experiences and patient encounters while tracing his family's cardiac history. His grandfather's sudden death in India first sparked his fascination with heart disease. Now he recognizes troubling signs that suggest his own potential fate. The book moves between gripping surgical scenes and personal reflection. Jauhar examines how emotional trauma physically alters the heart's structure. He also questions the boundaries of current medical technology and suggests that lifestyle choices will matter more than future inventions in determining cardiac health.
Genres: medical, biography-memoir, health, history-of-medicine
Vibes: intimate, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: medical-drama, personal-journey
Setting: India
Period: 20th-century, 21st-century
Audio CD · Dreamscape Media