In this video, Dr. Aarush Manchanda is attending a Barnes & Noble book signing for his innovative book – Your Heart House: An Artisan’s Approach to Understanding Heart Health. Here, he discusses what precision medicine is all about, and how he hopes the unique approach he uses in his book will enable him to reach out to thousands of more people, helping them to achieve better heart health.

What is Precision Medicine?

Precision medicine is a new buzzword in health care and describes how doctors are trying to create extremely precise treatments, removing the traditional practice of “one size fits all.” And what people refer to as precision medicine, Dr. Manchanda calls the Artisan’s Approach – which is where the title of his book came from.

Having experienced the lack of understanding of patients when it comes to heart health, Dr. Manchanda feels it’s vital patients have a greater knowledge of heart disease and its risk factors. He believes it’s important that there’s shared decision making between doctors and patients. And not only should it be mutual, but it should be informed too, so the patient really understands the decision they’re making.

Dr. Manchanda has witnessed first-hand how a clear understanding of heart problems results in greater engagement from patients, which enables them to improve their health willingly and knowingly.

The Future of Heart Health

When asked how he feels the book signing has been received, Dr. Manchanda suggests it was a good turnout. People were sincerely interested in heart health and took the time to stop by and ask questions. He hopes this is the beginning of a long journey where he can teach people about their hearts.

By doing so, he believes they’ll be able to make the right decisions when it comes to their lifestyles, rather than waiting until something happens (e.g. heart attack prevention) to make important changes. And, with the growth of precision medicine, having a basic understanding of their hearts will help them with potential treatments further down the line.

Dr. Manchanda has worked hard to become a doctor, and still works hard to see patients every day. In just one day, he can touch 15 to 20 lives, but this is time-consuming. However, with his vision, precision medicine, and the release of his book, he hopes he can start to reach out to lots more people, moving his focus from patients to populations.