INTRODUCTION In the era of classical cardiovascular (CV) medicine (ending around the year 2000), CV function was validated predominantly by invasive means. Classic studies established the end systolic and end…
INTRODUCTION A resurgence of interest in atrial function has enhanced our understanding of the atrial contributions to cardiovascular performance in health and disease (see Chapter 13 ). The reasons for…
INTRODUCTION Pericardologists were concerned almost exclusively with diastole (for good reasons of pericardial constriction and cardiac tamponade) before the late 1980s, when diastolic dysfunction (DD) started to attract widespread attention…
INTRODUCTION Heart failure is an ancient diagnosis. Some of the earliest known descriptions are attributed to Hippocrates, circa 460–370 BCE. He reported dozens of clinical case histories with examples of…
