Can You Die of a Broken Heart?: A heart surgeon's insight into what makes us tick

Description

'Dr Stamp is so clearly in love with her subject: that wonderful and yet still mysterious organ, the human heart.' Michael Mosley When actress Debbie Reynolds died a day after her beloved daughter, Carrie Fisher, the world diagnosed it as 'heartbreak'. But what's the evidence? Does emotional upheaval affect the heart? Can love, or chocolate, really heal our heart problems? And why do we know so much about heart attacks in men, when they are more fatal in women? Heart and lung surgeon Dr Nikki Stamp takes us into the operating theatre, explaining what she sees in patients with heart complications and how a life-saving transplant works. Stamp fell in the love with the heart as a child and continues to be fascinated by its workings and the whole-of-life experiences that affect it. Rich with anecdotes, and insights for maintaining heart health, Can You Die of a Broken Heart? is a blockbuster from a uniquely positioned young specialist.

Dr Nikki Stamp is one of only a handful of female heart and lung surgeons in Australia. She holds a Fellowship of the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons in cardiothoracic surgery and trained at some of the country's busiest hospitals. Dr Stamp has a strong desire to change the way we think about health.

'It is a rare thing to find a surgeon who can write and who is so clearly in love with her subject. It helps that the subject of Dr Nikki Stamp's passion is that wonderful and yet still mysterious organ, the human heart. Dr Stamp writes about the heart with real verve and insight, addressing fascinating questions, like "can you die of a broken heart?", while telling moving human stories drawn from her own experience as a cardio thoracic surgeon.' Dr Michael Mosley