The Heart in Hypertension Introduction A number of cardiac derangements complicate the natural history and progressive course of systemic hypertensive vascular disease. In addition, several independent comorbid diseases, each with…
Concluding Comments As stated in our Preface and Introduction, one of the prime intentions in publishing this atlas was to put together, in one volume, a personal overview of current…
Uncomplicated Essential Hypertension Introduction Treatment of patients with essential hypertension has been tremendously successful since publication of the landmark Veterans Administrative Cooperative Study reports. With this impetus, guidelines for the…
Clinical Pharmacology of Antihypertensive Agents Introduction In this chapter the available classes of antihypertensive agents will be discussed. The potential for individualized therapeutic approaches for specifically identified groups of patients…
Evaluation of the Patient Introduction As with all clinical problems, it is essential to evaluate the patient thoroughly before considering management and treatment. If therapy is initiated before overall clinical…
Pathophysiology: Disease Mechanisms Introduction Systemic arterial hypertension is one of the most common cardiovascular diseases of industrialized populations. It affects approximately 20% of adults in these societies, and a much…
Special Diagnostic Procedures Echocardiography In the book and movie The Hunt for Red October, each side found the other’s submarines underwater by bouncing sound waves off them. The same principle…
Heart Attack Half of all deaths are caused by disease of the heart and blood vessels. The chances are good, therefore, that you will be on hand when someone actually…
Measuring the Efficiency of the Heart How well is the heart performing its job of pumping blood? (Ventricular function is the term cardiologists use to describe the pumping efficiency of…
Cardiac Surgery Forty to 50 years ago, the idea of operating on the inside of the heart was pure science fiction. Now it happens every day in every major hospital…
