Heart ― An American Medical Odyssey

Former Vice President Dick Cheney and his longtime cardiologist, Dr. Jonathan Reiner, share the story of Cheney’s thirty-five-year battle with heart disease—providing insight into the incredible medical breakthroughs that have changed cardiac care over the last four decades.

For almost as long as he served at the highest levels of government and business, Dick Cheney has been one of the most well known cardiac patients in the world. When he suffered his first heart attack in 1978, Cheney received essentially the same treatment as President Eisenhower did after his heart attack in 1955. Since then, coronary care has undergone revolutionary changes. The story of these changes is told through the chronicle of Cheney’s own heart disease and the treatments he received.

In Heart, for the first time ever, Dick Cheney shares the very personal story of his health struggles. Heart traces the history of cardiology over the past forty years through the alternating narratives of Cheney and his longtime cardiologist Dr. Jonathan Reiner. In their voices, readers will learn about Cheney’s personal experiences, get a glimpse into the all-important doctor-patient relationship, and learn about the cutting-edge science that has radically changed the way we think about and treat the disease. By revealing the intimate details behind his five heart attacks and most recently, his heart transplant, Cheney offers hope to the millions struggling with cardiovascular disease around the world.

Dick Cheney served at the highest levels of government and the private sector for more than forty years. He was White House Chief of Staff under President Gerald Ford and was elected six times to the US House of Representatives from Wyoming, eventually becoming the minority whip. He served as Secretary of Defense under President George H.W. Bush, overseeing America’s military during the 1991 Operation Desert Storm. He served as chairman and CEO of a Fortune 100 company, and as the forty-sixth Vice President of the United States, he served two terms under President George W. Bush during the dawn of the Global War on Terror, playing a key role in events that have shaped history.

Jonathan Reiner, MD, is the director of the cardiac catheterization laboratory at The George Washington University Hospital and professor of medicine at The George Washington University in Washington, DC. A graduate of the University of Pennsylvania and Georgetown University, Dr. Reiner completed a residency in medicine at North Shore University Hospital and Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York. He began a fellowship in cardiology at The George Washington University Medical Center in 1990. In 1994, he completed a fellowship in interventional cardiology, which, along with the management of patients with complex coronary artery disease, remains his focus today.