Thoracic Key

ELECTROCARDIOGRAPHY Ary L. Goldberger An electrocardiogram (ECG or EKG) is a graphic recording of electric potentials generated by the heart. The signals are detected by means of metal electrodes attached…

ISCHEMIC HEART DISEASE Elliott M. Antman Andrew P. Selwyn Joseph Loscalzo Ischemic heart disease (IHD) is a condition in which there is an inadequate supply of blood and oxygen to…

THE BRADYARRHYTHMIAS David D. Spragg Gordon F. Tomaselli Electrical activation of the heart normally originates in the sinoatrial (SA) node, the predominant pacemaker. Other subsidiary pacemakers in the atrioventricular (AV)…

VALVULAR HEART DISEASE Patrick O’Gara Joseph Loscalzo The role of the physical examination in the evaluation of patients with valvular heart disease is also considered in Chaps. 9 and 10;…

INFECTIVE ENDOCARDITIS Adolf W. Karchmer The prototypic lesion of infective endocarditis, the vegetation (Fig. 25-1), is a mass of platelets, fibrin, microcolonies of microorganisms, and scant inflammatory cells. Infection most…

BASIC BIOLOGY OF THE CARDIOVASCULAR SYSTEM Joseph Loscalzo Peter Libby Jonathan Epstein THE BLOOD VESSEL VASCULAR ULTRASTRUCTURE Blood vessels participate in homeostasis on a moment-to-moment basis and contribute to the…

CARDIOGENIC SHOCK AND PULMONARY EDEMA Judith S. Hochman David H. Ingbar Cardiogenic shock and pulmonary edema are life-threatening conditions that should be treated as medical emergencies. The most common etiology…

APPROACH TO THE PATIENT WITH A HEART MURMUR Patrick T. O’Gara Joseph Loscalzo INTRODUCTION The differential diagnosis of a heart murmur begins with a careful assessment of its major attributes…

DYSPNEA Richard M. Schwartzstein DYSPNEA The American Thoracic Society defines dyspnea as a “subjective experience of breathing discomfort that consists of qualitatively distinct sensations that vary in intensity. The experience…

THE PATHOGENESIS, PREVENTION, AND TREATMENT OF ATHEROSCLEROSIS Peter Libby PATHOGENESIS Atherosclerosis remains the major cause of death and premature disability in developed societies. Moreover, current predictions estimate that by the…