To take charge of your heart's health, you need to become a partner with your doctor and work together as a team to fight your heart disease. (This approach may require a change of thinking on your part if you were raised to believe that doctors are all-knowing, all- wise superheroes whose opinions are not to be questioned. Those days are over! However, some doctors still believe this to be true - stay far away from them).

Patient

What are your responsibilities and rights as a patient (or "consumer," if you prefer that term)? They go beyond the simple courtesies of arriving on time for your appointments and paying your bills on time·they include:

Be truthful about your symptoms and behaviors. You cannot expect your doctor to diagnose you properly or prescribe the correct treatments unless you disclose your complete family medical history and current symptoms. You also need to be candid about any harmful behaviors you are engaging in -- smoking, eating fatty foods, or abusing alcohol -- and about all the remedies you are currently taking -- prescription medicines, vitamins, herbs, and other naturopathic or folk medicines.

Educate yourself Read newspapers, books, magazines, and Internet articles about women and heart disease to keep abreast of new research findings and treatments. You can then share this new information with your doctor to see if it's relevant to you condition. Also, don't hesitate to ask your doctor to explain something if it's unclear or confusing. Learn, too, all about health and wellness, and what you can do to take better care of yourself -- eat healthy foods and get more exercise.

Share decision-making - Be willing to discuss different treatment choices with your doctors, and be open to their suggestions. In the end, you are the one who has to implement any final decisions so make sure you are comfortable with and understand them. If you will start a new prescription medicine, be sure to ask how it works, how long and how often you need to take it, what are its side effects, and what to do if you experience any side effects. If cost is an issue for you, ask if there is a less expensive medicine that can be substituted.

Speak Up - If something is bothering you about the quality of your medical care or your doctor's behavior, don't be shy - speak up! Or find another doctor with whom you feel more comfortable. You are the paying customer here - don't ever settle for inferior, condescending, or rude service. To do nothing means you may eventually avoid your doctor visits or fail to follow your treatment plan.

Maintain boundaries - No flirting, lewd remarks, or unethical behavior. Treat your doctors with respect and do not burden them with unnecessary phone calls or repeated office visits. Also, respect the time constraints doctors now face under managed care and use your time together as efficiently as possibly. Prepare in advance for your office visits by making a list of any questions or concerns you wish to discuss.

Doctor

What are the responsibilities and rights of your doctor in this partnership? They go beyond the simple courtesies of being on time for appointments, sending accurate bills for services, and respecting patient confidentiality· they include:

Be competent - New research studies about women and heart disease are coming out each month and it is important that doctors keep up with them, especially since much of what they learned in medical school was about heart disease in men. You have a right to a knowledgeable and skilled doctor.

Don't discriminate - Doctors control our access to tests, procedures, medicines, and doctor specialists so they must not withhold these on the basis of gender, race, income, or religion. Many women are not offered advanced treatments for heart disease as a result of their doctors' bias or ignorance. You have a right to appropriate medical services and treatments.

Communicate - Many doctors have not received communications training and, as a result, lack good interpersonal skills and can appear abrupt, arrogant, or condescending. (Most women doctors are much better communicators, thank heaven!) Doctors need to learn to listen to their women patients without interrupting, treat their opinions and emotions seriously, be culturally sensitive, and respect their values and religious beliefs. Withholding information or providing too much technical information should also be avoided. You have a right to be heard and your concerns taken seriously.

Be a partner - Doctors need to discuss treatment choices with their patients, fully disclosing costs and benefits of each, and develop mutually satisfying treatment plans that take into account their patients' lifestyles, religious and cultural beliefs (and preferences for folk or naturopathic remedies), support systems, and financial situations. Doctors also need to cooperate with each other - there is nothing more frustrating for a patient than to encounter doctors who will not talk with each other, either because of turf issues or ego. You have a right to decide your own treatments.

Maintain boundaries - No sexual harassment, lewd remarks, or unethical behavior. Doctors should not discuss their conflicts with other doctors, career boredom, personal problems, gripes about managed care companies, or other such issues with their patients. Patients are there to receive medical care, not to provide emotional support for the doctor. You have a right to be treated with dignity and your privacy protected.