Strange Heartbeats

Strange Hearbeats aims to capture the varied spontaneous emotions that a lover feels when he or she falls irrevocably in love with someone. The feelings that erupt during these moments are so fresh and so new that it almost seems strange for the lover to comprehend. The book is a tribute to this magical feeling of love. Divided into six sections, this heartfelt collection of poems aims to depict the different phases of love.

If youre the spouse, caregiver or loved one of someone who needs a heart transplant, what should you expect? Pamela Washnock fills a void in the existing literature by sharing her inspirational story of taking care of her husband, Bob, who was diagnosed with abnormal heart rhythms in 2000. If Bobs heart were to beat too fast, he could pass out and never wake up. Fortunately, an implantable cardioverter-defibrillator works well for many years, detecting abnormal rhythms and giving his heart a shock when needed. But in 2011, Pamela learns Bob will need a new heart. At first, no suitable match can be found. Doctors insert a left ventricular assist device into his chest, or LVAD, which is a mechanical pump that helps a weakened heart pump blood. When Bob finally gets a new heart, life remains hardand in some waysgets even worse. He must take a variety of medications, all of which affect him in different ways. See the journey of a heart transplant patient through a caregivers eyes, and find out what obstacles you may need to overcome if your loved one has a heart problem.

One of the most time-consuming tasks in clinical medicine is seeking the opinions of specialist colleagues. There is a pressure not only to make referrals appropriate but also to summarize the case in the language of the specialist. This book explains basic physiologic and pathophysiologic mechanisms of cardiovascular disease in a straightforward manner, gives guidelines as to when referral is appropriate, and, uniquely, explains what the specialist is likely to do. It is ideal for any hospital doctor, generalist, or even senior medical student who may need a cardiology opinion, or for that ma.

The account of a 4300km solo hike from Mexico to Canada through the desert areas and high Sierra Nevada of California and the Cascade ranges of Oregon and Washington.

Mike Owen, born with two congenital heart defects, battled with cardiac issues until the age of seven, when he underwent open heart surgery that changed his life. For the following 31 years, Mike was plagued with intense and disabling heart palpitations. In 2004, the cause of the palpitations was diagnosed and, after a short cardiac procedure, for the first time in 38 years his heart was stable. Life became easier. His confidence grew. But so did his workload. After three years of work-related stress, his heart succumbed to a new type of palpitation which would blight his life for the next four years. After taking steps to reduce the frequency and intensity of his cardiac problems, Mike finally felt like he had turned a corner. However, in 2017, he was plunged back into despair following a series of dramatic events. When his Occupational Health Doctor gave him an unexpected Mental Illness diagnosis, Mike embarked on a new path. He now had to deal with psychological issues, learn mindfulness techniques and work through the trauma of his childhood and the uncertainty of having spent so many years living with his heart problems. With his faithful dog, Coco, always by his side, Mike confronted the stigma and discrimination surrounding mental illness, in his own way. He found physical, emotional, and mental stability thanks to his diagnosis, and this is his uplifting story.

In 1986, the legendary fell runner Joss Naylor completed a continuous circuit of all 214 Wainwright fells in the Lake District, covering a staggering distance of over 300 miles - plus many thousands of metres of ascent - in only seven days and one hour. Those in the know thought that this record would never be beaten. It is the ultimate British ultramarathon. The person taking on this superhuman challenge would have to be willing to push harder and suffer more than ever before. There is no Map in Hell tells the story of a man willing to do just that. In 2014, Steve Birkinshaw made an attempt at setting a new record. With a background of nearly forty years of running elite orienteering races and extreme-distance fell running over the toughest terrain, if he couldn't do it, surely no one could. But the Wainwrights challenge is in a different league: aspirants need to complete two marathons and over 5,000 metres of ascent every day for a week. With a foreword by Joss Naylor, There is no Map in Hell recounts Birkinshaw's preparation, training and mile-by-mile experience of the extraordinary and sometimes hellish demands he made of his mind and body, and the physiological aftermath of such a feat. His deep love of the fells, phenomenal strength and tenacity are awe inspiring, and testimony to athletes and onlookers alike that 'in order to attain the impossible, one must attempt the absurd'.

A poignant and inspirational love story set in Burma, The Art of Hearing Heartbeats spans the decades between the 1950s and the present. When a successful New York lawyer suddenly disappears without a trace, neither his wife nor his daughter Julia has any idea where he might be…until they find a love letter he wrote many years ago, to a Burmese woman they have never heard of. Intent on solving the mystery and coming to terms with her father’s past, Julia decides to travel to the village where the woman lived. There she uncovers a tale of unimaginable hardship, resilience, and passion that will reaffirm the reader’s belief in the power of love to move mountains.