Stable Ischemic Heart Disease/Chronic Stable Angina
Stable or predictable angina on effort predominantly occurs in the setting of a fixed atherosclerotic stenosis of the coronary artery. Similar symptoms can also arise in other conditions, such as…
Advances in Coronary Revascularization
Overview The field of coronary revascularization was revolutionized more than 50 years ago, when the first successful coronary artery bypass surgery was performed, followed shortly thereafter by the first percutaneous…
Pharmacologic Options for Treatment of Ischemic Disease
Organic Nitrates Overview Nitroglycerin (glyceryl trinitrate [GTN]) was first synthesized in 1847 by Ascanio Sobrero, who described a “violent headache” upon self-administration of a “minute quantity” of the drug. A…
Pharmacologic Management of Heart Failure in the Ambulatory Setting
Heart failure is a growing public health problem. Over the past 2 decades, considerable advancement has occurred in the understanding of the basic pathophysiologic mechanisms that underlie the clinical syndrome…
Tools for Assessment of Cardiovascular Tests and Therapies
Cardiovascular disease continues to be a major health problem, estimated to be responsible for about 30% of all global deaths. Currently, cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death in…
Global Cardiovascular Therapy
Introduction to Global Challenges in Cardiovascular Disease Therapy Cardiovascular disease (CVD) has become the single greatest cause of death worldwide. In 2004, CVD caused an estimated 17 million deaths and…
Systems of Health Care
A system is an interconnected set of elements organized to achieve a function or purpose. A system of care is an interconnected care delivery system, usually in a geographically contiguous…
Pharmacogenetics
Interindividual variability of drug response has been well documented. In addition to drug-drug and drug-environment interactions, genetic factors have emerged as contributors to variability in response to several cardiovascular medications….
Device Development for Cardiovascular Therapeutics: Concepts and Regulatory Implications
Overview Over the past 50 years, new medical devices and related innovations have contributed greatly to the decrease in deaths from cardiovascular causes. Indeed, cardiovascular device development has advanced dramatically…
New Drug Development
Cardiovascular medicine has been in the vanguard of new therapeutic development since 1955, when President Dwight Eisenhower’s myocardial infarction (MI) in office captured worldwide attention. Many forces contribute to this…
