Not only can you survive with heart disease, you can actually thrive with it -- for many, many years to come. If you are one of the 61 million Americans diagnosed with heart disease -- whether you've had a heart attack or surgery, or you have high blood pressure or angina -- you can learn how to handle its psychological side effects with the lifesaving strategies in this book. Acclaimed cardiac psychologist Wayne M. Sotile, Ph.D., reveals what every heart patient needs to know: how you feel about the illness and how you cope with it can determine how fully you recover. Dr. Sotile teaches you how to achieve emotional well-being over the four basic stages of recovery, during which you and your family learn to accept the disease, grasp what's involved in treatment and recovery, and learn to work together as a team. You will also learn to create and adapt to a "new normal" way of life and make a commitment to living with the illness, not in spite of it. Written with reassuring warmth, sensitivity, and humor, Thriving with Heart Disease is your guide to creating the robust, healthy life you were meant to lead, surrounded by the people you love.