Treating Type A Behavior--and Your Heart

Meyer Friedman, Diane Ulmer

Knopf, 1984 - Medical - 285 pages

For over a decade, "Type A" has been a household term, thanks in large part to Meyer Friedman, M.D., co-author of the original bestselling Type A Behavior and Your Heart. Now, in collaboration with Diane Ulmer, R.N., M.S., Dr. Friedman tells Type A personalities -- the more than half of urban American males (and a growing number of females) driven by compulsive time urgency, aggressive competitiveness, and free-floating hostility -- how to reduce their alarmingly high risk of coronary heart disease. Based on an exhaustive four year study, Treating Type A Behavior -- And Your Heart reveals: -- How to spot the Type A personality -- in yourself, your family, or your friends -- How adjusting to life in the slow lane can free you from the threat of heart attack -- How the wrong diet can be a quick killer -- The deadly pitfalls of exercise -- How changing your work habits, your emotional responses, even your speech patterns, can mean both a longer -- and a happier -- life.

Contents

• The History of an Idea: 3
• The Nature of Type A Behavior: 31
• 3 The Type B Man: 71

About the author

Meyer Friedman, 1910 - 2001 Meyer Friedman is best known for his work in linking behavior to health hazards, more specifically the Type A Behavior, which conclusively leads to heart attacks. Friedman earned his Bachelor's Degree from Yale and his Doctorate from Johns Hopkins. His best known work is entitled "Type A Behavior and Your Heart", which he co-wrote with Dr. Ray H. Rosenman. Dr. Friedman was himself of the Type A Behavior, yet knowing this tried to become more like the Type B Behavior to possibly save his own life. He had suffered two heart attacks in his lifetime, as well as two coronary bypass surgeries. Friedman insisted that his theory was behavioral and not personality because it could be changed. If a person with Type A Behavior wished to avoid heart attacks, then they could attempt to change the way they behaved. Type A is described as a person who gets angry easily, works too hard and generally lives life at an exceeded rate of time. Type B is described as easy going and relaxed, less prone to heart attacks. This discovery became a household phrase and also led the way for more research into cardiology and ways to prevent heart attacks. Besides his revolutionary theory, Friedman also performed research at an institute named for him at Mount Zion Medical Center in San Francisco. He made discoveries in gout, cholesterol production and the psychological events that take place during a heart attack. He will be remembered always as a major figure in the research of cardiovascular disease. Meyer Friedman died April 27, 2001, in San Francisco. He was 90 years old.

Bibliographic information

• Title: Treating Type A Behavior--and Your Heart; Borzoi book
• Authors: Meyer Friedman, Diane Ulmer
• Edition: illustrated
• Publisher: Knopf, 1984
• ISBN: 0394522869, 9780394522869
• Length: 285 pages
• Subjects: Medical / Cardiology; Psychology / Movements / Behaviorism; Psychology / Psychopathology / General