Have You Planned Your Heart Attack

Great to see evidence based approach to managing cardiac health as opposed to the more typical one size fit all “have some statins”

“HAVE YOU PLANNED YOUR HEART ATTACK?” by Dr. Warrick Bishop

Planning Your Heart Attack? An intriguing title! While sitting in Warrick’s waiting room for my husband’s cardiac appointment, I spotted the book. A few minutes spent leafing through it convinced me to purchase a copy on the spot!
​This book is a fascinating, well presented, thoroughly researched treatise in lay terminology, of the preventability of coronary heart disease, utilising proven, painless, affordable testing…a proactive solution to today’s escalating rate of cardiac pathology, particularly in the ‘young and fit’.
​Warrick, a highly qualified, much published author, employs humour and colourful graphics to illustrate the effectiveness of his theory in a most engaging way. Considering our severely overloaded health system, large scale implementation of his philosophy might not only benefit those at risk, but could mitigate problems such as ambulance ramping, lack of beds and overworked staff.
​This book should be in every general practitioner’s personal library…and waiting room!
Penny Morton

Doctor Warrick Bishop is passionate about his field. With this can come a certainty that can be off-putting to those with a different view. He doesn’t let this deter him. I found his treatment clear, succinct and built on a solid experiential and medical basis. The almost confrontational title of his book, “Have You Planned Your Heart Attack?” captures the no-nonsense approach he has to this topic. Put simply, whilst many doctors play it safe using solely traditional diagnostic approaches, with these supported by the Australian Medicare system, Doctor Warrick successfully explains why more modern analytical tools, such as using a computed tomography coronary angiogram, that is available via referral on his website through to most radiologists, can identify potentially terminal heart issues that are not detected using the traditional approach. His book is beautifully put together and presented, with great illustrations and written in simple language. For anyone who wants to know more about this area of their health, I highly recommend Doctor Warrick’s work and books.
Scott Donoghue
University Tasmania Lecturer and patient

Don't leave it too long to read this book - or it might be too late!

It's too easy to make medical topics too hard but Warwick's great book doesn't do that. It takes the reader on a journey that helps the layman and professional alike put the whole coronary artery story into an understandable context. What results is empowering to the layman and a gentle encouragement to the profession to move on from traditional entrenched practice.

Why is it that the Profession seems so reluctant to shift to sensible selective screening for coronary artery disease? Why is there an insistence on waiting for symptoms to justify a coronary angiogram when an earlier CT calcium score or CT angiogram could elucidate the risks?

Warwick's book uses evidence and anecdotes from his years of experience to shine a light on this area of huge medical interest. Warwick recognises that population-wide statistics have revealed the importance of broad factors across the population. But they don't go far enough to evaluate an individual's risk of a cardiac event. For instance low cholesterol, good diet and regular exercise might mean an individual is at less risk of coronary artery disease than others in the population, but the individual wants more than that. As an individual I want to know the risk that I will have a cardiac event.

Here is a knowledgeable, candid, unbiased plea that advocates an evidence-based progression for investigations. Here is a proactive pathway to follow BEFORE you have a heart attack. Worth a read. Hopefully it will contribute to a change in practice amongst cardiologists. Or do we need to change the incentive scheme first?