Flow

Heart disease is often confusing not because the words are impossible, but because the story is told in pieces.

A calcium score shows plaque, but does that mean an artery is dangerously blocked? A stress test is normal, but symptoms continue. A stent is recommended, but what problem is it meant to solve? After a heart attack or hospital stay, patients may go home with new medicines and very little sense of what should happen next.

FLOW brings those pieces together.

Interventional cardiologist Nachiket J. Patel, MD, FACC, FSCAI, explains heart disease through a practical framework that connects the artery wall, blood flow, symptoms, risk, testing, treatment, and time. Drawing on his experience caring for patients in the clinic, hospital, and catheterization laboratory, he helps readers understand not only what a test found, but also what it did not answer and what the next decision should be.

Written in clear, straightforward language, FLOW explains:

• How plaque develops and why a heart attack can appear sudden after years of silent disease

• The major drivers of cardiovascular risk, including family history, Lp(a), sleep apnea, and risks that are often missed in women

• What calcium scores, stress tests, echocardiograms, heart monitors, CT scans, and cardiac catheterization can and cannot tell you

• Atrial fibrillation, heart failure, persistent symptoms, heart medicines, stents, and bypass surgery

• The first 90 days after a heart event and the habits that protect the heart over a lifetime

The book also includes the Flow Toolkit, a collection of worksheets, question guides, trackers, and checklists designed for real appointments and real decisions.

Whether you are trying to prevent a first cardiovascular event, recovering after a heart attack or stent, living with symptoms that have not been fully explained, or helping someone you love, FLOW will help you ask better questions, understand your options, and leave with a next step that makes sense.