START WITH STRESS... AND OTHER HEALTHY HABITS WILL FOLLOW, SAYS AUTHOR OF `TAKE A LOAD OFF YOUR HEART'.

Byline: Mariko Thompson Staff Writer

With heart disease ranking as the nation's No. 1 killer, the message has gone out that Americans need to eat better and exercise. But who has time?

Rather than write another diet and exercise book, Joseph Piscatella went to the underlying problem. If people can learn to manage stress, they're more likely to make the changes that lead to heart-healthy lives, said Piscatella, co-author of ``Take a Load Off Your Heart'' (Workman Publishing; $14.95) with Barry Franklin, an expert in physiology.

Piscatella's not talking about major stressors like death or divorce, but the hectic day-to-day tension that builds from too many activities and too little time.

``You get up in the morning with 50 things you must do to have a successful day,'' said Piscatella, president of the Institute for Fitness and Health in Gig Harbor, Wash. ``You never hit your mark, and you wake up the next day 10 behind. When you're under that kind of chronic stress, all roads lead to the refrigerator. We're a nation that discusses our cholesterol levels over Danish pastries.''

In ``Take a Load Off Your Heart,'' Piscatella and Franklin give 109 strategies to improve heart health. Stress management techniques include writing in a journal (No. 18), prioritizing goals and values (No. 20), taking tai chi (No. 28), deep breathing (No. 22) and avoiding upsetting images on TV (No. 42).

``We've got some things that are physical, some that are mental, that will allow you to better manage the stress,'' Piscatella said. ``You're more in control when you're managing stress.''

Piscatella, who also wrote the ``Don't Eat Your Heart Out Cookbook,'' became intrigued with fitness and diet in 1977, after undergoing bypass surgery at the age of 32. He acknowledges that many people don't make changes until they get sick. But as health-care costs continue to escalate, companies may find it's in their financial interest to help employees find the time to de-stress, exercise and eat well, Piscatella said.

``It's a necessity because the increase in health-care costs has become so alarming,'' he said. ``The answer is helping people to have a more balanced lifestyle.''

LIFE AFTER STROKE: Cleo Hutton describes her rehabilitation after suffering a debilitating, life-altering stroke at age 43 in ``Striking Back at Stroke: A Doctor-Patient Journal'' with Dr. Louis R. Caplan. The book alternates between Hutton's personal account and commentary from Caplan, a professor of neurology at Harvard Medical School. Where Hutton, a former nurse, discusses difficulties doing simple mathematical tasks, Caplan explains how the stroke affects portions of the brain that deal with memory. The book describes medical tests and provides advice on home care and emotional support. Hutton shows how she rebuilt her life after stroke, one that is much different but no less full.

HOUSE CALLS: Ever wonder what kind of home remedies a doctor would use? The editors of Prevention Health Books tell you in the expanded and revised edition of ``The Doctors Book of Home Remedies'' (Bantam Books; $7.50). Did you know that you can use wet tea bags to treat canker sores? Or that a paste made of aspirin and water will reduce calluses? Each topic lists the doctors who served as advisers. The book also contains guidelines for the safe use of herbs, vitamins and supplements.

CAPTION(S):

4 photos

Photo:

(1) Joseph Piscatella

(2) no caption (book: ``Take a Load Off Your Heart'')

(3) no caption (book: ``Striking Back at Stroke'')

(4) no caption (book: ``The Doctors Book of Home Remedies'')