Life to the Years

"Given the nature and severity of your heart attack, you should no longer be with us. Statistically, you are dead." - Dr. Michael James to Michael Ranville A generation ago, heart patients rarely defied the statistical category that dictated a sedentary existence and an abbreviated life. But one patient didn't die. He continued to live, refused to take up membership in that statistical category. Under the 30-year care of Dr. Michael James and a forward-leaning cardiac community, Mike Ranville and a host of other determined heart patients created a new statistical category. A robust re-entry into life after heart disease is but one of many compelling topics examined by the insightful doctor-patient team in Life to the Years. Life to the Years is the story of a tenacious and resourceful cardiologist and his resolute patient. It is a lively, anecdote-laden account of seizing control of life after heart disease - long the nation's number one killer. The authors illustrate the development of life-saving technology with fascinating stories that underscore the human element that still drives medicine. Life to the Years does not shy from the controversial, from the uncomfortable. A confrontation with mortality is the inevitable companion of heart disease. For the authors, the significance of dignity when faced with death - for both family and patient - is far from a theoretical discussion.