When a heart symptom, test result, or treatment recommendation raises questions, it can be hard to know what to ask next. FLOW: A Clearer Way to Understand and Protect Your Heart, by interventional cardiologist Nachiket J. Patel, MD, is now available on Amazon in paperback, hardcover, and Kindle.
The book offers a framework for understanding heart symptoms, testing, plaque, cardiovascular risk, treatment choices, recovery, and prevention. Its purpose is to help readers have clearer conversations with their own care teams and make sense of the decisions in front of them.
Start with the question you have now
You do not have to read the book as a checklist or try to interpret every test on your own. You may be wondering what a “normal” result actually assessed, why a clinician is recommending another test, or how blood pressure, cholesterol, family history, sleep, and other factors fit together. Start with the chapter that matches your question, and write down what you would like to clarify at your next visit.
The book also addresses the difference between a number on a report and the decision that number can support. A result becomes more useful when you understand what it shows, what it leaves uncertain, and what might change your care.
Put the online toolkit to work
FLOW includes an online toolkit with 14 printer-friendly companion worksheets. They are organized around four stages: planning, understanding, building a care plan, and maintaining progress.
For example, you can use Preparing for Your Visit to bring your main concern and questions into focus, Questions Before a Planned Test or Procedure to discuss expected benefits and alternatives, or Symptom and Trend Tracker to record a pattern you want your clinician to evaluate. Choose only the tool that fits the next conversation; there is no need to complete all 14.
Explore FLOW
Learn more about the book, explore the FLOW Toolkit, or see the available book formats on Amazon.
FLOW and its companion toolkit provide general education. They cannot diagnose a condition, replace personalized medical advice, or tell you to start, stop, or change treatment. For a possible medical emergency, call 911.
