Book excerpt: Millions of Americans follow the "best" medical advice every day to prevent heart attacks -- eating the standard low-fat, high-carbohydrate diet so widely recommended by doctors -- but in fact they are placing themselves at greater risk for heart disease. In Syndrome X: Overcoming the Silent Killer That Can Give You a Heart Attack, Dr. Gerald Reaven, the world-renowned physician who identified and named this silent killer, explains why the standard heart-healthy diet can be dangerous and lays out a simple six-step program to reduce the risk of heart disease for everyone. The problem stems from a little-known cluster of metabolic abnormalities known as Syndrome X. The insulin resistance that lies at the heart of the syndrome can turn normal rules of good health upside down and dramatically increase the risk of heart disease. Fortunately, Syndrome X can be cured. This important book explains how to identify the disorder and provides a program of diet and exercise (plus medication when necessary) that can render Syndrome X harmless. Tested in carefully controlled research settings and in practice, this remarkable new approach has the ability to reduce the risk of heart attacks and heart disease for all of us. Dr. Reaven shows how eating a diet relatively high in "good" fats (40 percent of calories) can dramatically lower the risk of heart disease if you have Syndrome X. The approach seems paradoxical: Everyone "knows" that fat is bad, so how can more fat possibly lead to better health? The answer lies in the type of fat and the body chemistry of the people who consume it. If you have the abnormal metabolism called Syndrome X, eating a low-fat, high-carbohydrate diet to lower your LDL and blood fats won't protect you. In fact, doing so will increase the odds of heart disease. Millions of Americans have the potentially deadly, yet easily identifiable signs of Syndrome X -- but few cases are detected in time, because most physicians don't know what to look for. This trailblazing book will change that, making doctors and patients aware of the problem -- and its easy solution, an integrated program of diet and exercise that simultaneously reduces all the risk factors for heart disease, including Syndrome X. Dr. Reaven's discovery of Syndrome X has shown us that the standard approach to preventing heart disease is dangerous for many of us. Now, his safe, proven new approach explains how millions can drastically reduce their risk of heart disease. His program works not only for those who have Syndrome X, but also for anyone who simply wants to reduce the risk of heart disease.