Heart - the inside story of our body’s most important organ
By Johannes Hinrich von Borstel
Scribe $29.99
The splendidly named author of this ambitious and generally successful work was an early-age (15 years, work experience) paramedic, now a doctor and an aspiring cardiologist, and ‘one of Germany’s most successful science-slammers’.
Nor surprisingly, then, the book is a blend of paramedical anecdote, cardiology theory, and folksy tips about things we can, and should, do to keep our hearts healthy. Have more sex, for example.
In a chapter titled ‘Bedroom Sport for the Heart’, presumably a popular slam topic, he writes about a candlelit room, empty wine glasses, discarded clothing, Marvin Gaye music… “This trail of clothes leads to a couple engaged in an intensive workout. What they’re doing is not only a lot of fun, but also good for their hearts.”
Unless, I suppose, they’re not healthy in the first place and one or other suffers a cardiac arrest in flagrante. Come to think of it, the uber-fit Bruce Lee died from one of those whilst engaging in some extra-marital bedroom kung fu.
The broad thrust (pun intended) of the chapter is that the benefits of bonking are undeniable: “Bedroom sport provides a great way to combine physical exertion with stress-reducing effects while protecting our bodies by means of the hormones that sexual intercourse releases inside us”.
However, he does add a caveat about the risks: “Vigorous sexual activity can be counterproductive to the health of those with pre-existing cardiovascular conditions… it isn’t effective as a cure.”
Amidst the sex and some slammish puns, JHvB has delivered a thoughtful 278-page paperback that should have as much interest to the professional as to the lay reader, assuming the latter can persist with the medical terminology.
What is the heart, how can it go wrong, and what can we do to give it - hence, us - the best chance of having a long and healthy life?
These are the key issues discussed in a stylistic mix ranging from the common sensical (eat more vegies and less fat, drink less, don’t smoke, do more exercise) to the somewhat technical: “When inactive B lymphocytes encounter a foreign substance (known as antigen) as they circulate in our bloodstream, they waste no time in absorbing it pulling it apart, and presenting the resulting fragments on their surface.”
At its best this is a valuable compendium of ‘ticker tips’, but I hope he simplifies the messages when he engages in a slam.
Compare and contrast the following -
- “With the exception of a patent ductus arteriosus, which can sometimes be closed using medication, almost all of the congenital heart defects described here require surgery to correct them.”
- “Research has taught us one fundamental thing: a healthy heart requires a healthy body and a healthy mind. Only then can it function perfectly.”
No doubt JHvB has a cardiological bent and should do well in his ongoing career, whatever the stage he performs on. The value of a paramedic turned specialist is all too clear.
Those general readers able to stay the course will derive much benefit from the life-enhancing advice he delivers.
