This book discusses geometric and mathematical models that can be used to study fluid and structural mechanics in the cardiovascular system. Where traditional research methodologies in the human cardiovascular system are challenging due to its invasive nature, several recent advances in medical imaging and computational fluid and solid mechanics modelling now provide new and exciting research opportunities. This emerging field of study is multi-disciplinary, involving numerical methods, computational science, fluid and structural mechanics, and biomedical engineering. Certainly any new student or researcher in this field may feel overwhelmed by the wide range of disciplines that need to be understood. This unique book is one of the first to bring together knowledge from multiple disciplines, providing a starting point to each of the individual disciplines involved, attempting to ease the steep learning curve. This book presents elementary knowledge on the physiology of the cardiovascular system; basic knowledge and techniques on reconstructing geometric models from medical imaging; mathematics that describe fluid and structural mechanics, and corresponding numerical/computational methods to solve its equations and problems. Many practical examples and case studies are presented to reinforce best practice guidelines for setting high quality computational models and simulations. These examples contain a large number of images for visualization, to explain cardiovascular physiological functions and disease. The reader is then exposed to some of the latest research activities through a summary of breakthrough research models, findings, and techniques. The book's approach is aimed at students and researchers entering this field from engineering, applied mathematics, biotechnology or medicine, wishing to engage in this emerging and exciting field of computational hemodynamics modelling.

Peripheral and Cerebrovascular Intervention draws upon experts from diverse fields to provide readers with a comprehensive foundation for understanding and performing endovascular procedures-from the basic steps to the most current and advanced techniques. Individual chapters focus on primary intervention sites, including lower extremity, renal/mesenteric, subclavian/upper extremity, carotid/vertebral, intracranial and venous interventions. Additionally, chapters covering critical limb ischemia and abdominal and thoracic aortic aneurysms are included. By incorporating valuable clinical information, such as indications, contraindications, complications and discussions of surgical techniques and procedures, this book is a valuable resource for the busy practitioner and will be of interest to all interventional and general cardiologists, radiologists and neurologists; vascular surgeons; internists and residents and fellows.

Translational Cardiology: Molecular Basis of Cardiac Metabolism, Cardiac Remodeling, Translational Therapies and Imaging Techniques provides an up-to-date introduction to the role circadian rhythms, cardiac plasticity, and mechanotransduction play in the heart, while at the same time introducing new developments in cellular, viral, and non-biologic therapies that are in the process of being developed. Importantly, the focus of this book is on topics that, due to their novelty, are largely not covered in the other major textbooks. A special emphasis is placed on the molecular basis of cardiac metabolism, new concepts in cardiac remodeling, and translational therapies and imaging techniques currently under development for clinical use. The chapters are written by experts from diverse clinical and biomedical research backgrounds. Translational Cardiology: Molecular Basis of Cardiac Metabolism, Cardiac Remodeling, Translational Therapies and Imaging Techniques simplifies the complexity of the molecular basis of disease by focusing on patient-oriented disease mechanisms and therapies and is of great value to a broad audience including physicians (e.g. cardiologists, cardiovascular surgeons, pathologists) as well as translational biomedical researchers in a wide range of disciplines.

Together, the volumes in this series present all of the data needed at various length scales for a multidisciplinary approach to modeling and simulation of flows in the cardiovascular and ventilatory systems, especially multiscale modeling and coupled simulations. The cardiovascular and respiratory systems are tightly coupled, as their primary function is to supply oxygen to and remove carbon dioxide from the body's cells. Because physiological conduits have deformable and reactive walls, macroscopic flow behavior and prediction must be coupled to nano- and microscopic events in a corrector scheme of regulated mechanism. Therefore, investigation of flows of blood and air in anatomical conduits requires an understanding of the biology, chemistry, and physics of these systems together with the mathematical tools to describe their functioning in quantitative terms. The present volume focuses on macroscopic aspects of the cardiovascular and respiratory systems in pathological conditions, i.e., diseases of the cardiac pump, blood vessels, and airways, as well as their treatments. Only diseases that have a mechanical origin or are associated with mechanical disorders are covered. Local flow disturbances can trigger pathophysiological processes or, conversely, result from diseases of conduit walls or their environment. The ability to model these phenomena is essential to the development and manufacturing of medical devices, which incorporate a stage of numerical tests in addition to experimental procedures.

Cardiovascular diseases continue to be the leading cause of death in the - jority of industrialized countries. The most frequent underlying pathology, namely atherosclerosis, and its clinical sequelae, namely coronary heart d- ease, cerebrovascular disease and peripheral artery disease, remain common although for a long time we have been made aware of avoidable or mo- ?able etiological factors such as smoking, fat-rich diet or lack of exercise, and although these adverse lifestyle factors have been extensively addressed by population-wide primary prevention programs. Cardiovascular morbidity and mortality also remain high despite successful anti-hypertensive and lipid lowering drug therapies which help to reduce cardiovascular morbidity and mortality by about 30% in both secondary and tertiary prevention settings. This can partly be explained by the increasing life expectancy and growing p- portionofelderly people,especiallyinEuropeandNorthAmerica. Inaddition, the World Health Organization makes the alarming prediction that probably in response to the spreading of western dietary behavior and lack of exercise resulting in an increasing prevalence of diabetes, dyslipidemia and hypert- sion, cardiovascular diseases rather than infectious diseases will become the most frequent cause of death worldwide. This volume of the Handbook of Experimental Pharmacology entitled "Atherosclerosis" is divided into four parts and intends to give an overview on the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis, established treatment and prevention regimen, and of perspectives for the development of new treatment modalities.

Adi Haber's thesis summarises the use of a new entity, the corrole, to combat one of the major cardiovascular diseases, atherosclerosis. She examines the effects of three rationally designed corrole-metal complexes on some of the many variables which contribute to the development of atherosclerosis. There is a focus on both the "bad" and "good" cholesterol carriers, LDL and HDL. Adi Haber proceeds from basic findings in pure chemistry through biochemical and cell culture tests to in vivo examinations. The work in this thesis shows that corroles are highly efficient both for early and late treatment of atherosclerosis in animals. These results will pave the way for ongoing regulated preclinical studies focussed on the development of metallocorroles as potential drugs for treating cardiovascular diseases.

Thebook comprises the contribution of several authors who are among the mostrenowned scientists working in the field of mathematical modeling and numerical simulation of the human cardiocirculatory system. The contributions cover a wide range of topics, from the pre processing of clinical data, to the set up of mathematical equations, their numerical solution, both in-vivo and in-vitro validation. They address the flow in the systemic arterial tree and the complex electro-fluid-mechanical coupling in the human heart. Many examples of patient-specific simulations are addressed. This book is addressed to all scientists (from PhD level up to professional scientists) interested in the mathematical modeling and numerical simulation of the human cardiocirculatory system."

Translational medicine underpins vascular medicine. It is fundamental to understanding how we treat patients with vascular disease and more importantly, how to prevent it. It is the rationale for drug design and production. Vascular medicine and translational medicine will take over and become the main reason for referring patients to hospital. Therefore, hospital-based clinicians working with basic scientists need to know about translational medicine, which educates and informs them about vascular medicine and how management should be based. This book is a primer for translational vascular medicine and discusses the evolving and exciting areas of basic science applied to vascular medicine. The book is based on the third vascular biology conference held at The Royal College of Physicians in 2008. It provides a large amount of new basic and clinical information and the contributors are world leaders.

Cardiovascular fluid mechanics is now used as a tool in determining diagnosis, treatment, and prognosis by physicians and surgeons working in the fields of cardiology and angiology. The text is based on a considerable amount of clinical and experimental data on blood flow in the heart and large vessels obtained using various methods such as ultrasound pulsed Doppler velocimetry (including Doppler color flow imaging), catheter-tip electromagnetic velocimetry, hot-film anemometry, and laser Doppler velocimetry. The book will introduce medical researchers and clinicians to this rapidly developing field and allow them to apply the knowledge and the methods of fluid mechanics to practical medicine.

The field of cardiac arrhythmias has been evolving so fast during the last years that scientific meetings are frequently necessary to present technological advances, to communicate results of relevant and innovative researches, to assess the impact of recently developed diagnostic and therapeutical tools, to discuss controversial aspects, and to reach a consensus on the most appropriate evaluation and management of specific problems. This is the main reason why in 1988 we started to organize a biannual International Workshop on Cardiac Arrhythmias. Since then many editions of the workshop have taken place and over the years the fame and popularity of the event have increased continuously. This book contains the Proceedings of the Seventh Edition of the Workshop held in Venice at the Fondazione Giorgio Cini from the 7th to the lOth of October 2001. During the meeting all the principal aspects of the different arrhythmias, from epidemiology to physiopathology, electrogenetic mecha- nisms, diagnosis, prognosis, treatment, pshycological implications and econom- ic costs have been discussed among the numerous experts and participants.

The First International Symposium on Mechanism and Treatment in Essential Hypertension was held on October 23 and 24, 1985 in Nagoya. The Second International Symposium, which was held on May 30,31, and June 1, 1988 in Nagoya, was a success thanks to the endeavors of all the participants. These symposiums were made possible by the generous support of the city of Nagoya, Aichi Prefec ture, and various contributions. Understanding of the mechanisms of gene (major gene, essential) hypertension is impossible unless we comprehend the physiological properties of arterial smooth muscle. Since Langendorff's discovery of the role of calcium ions in muscle contraction in 1895, we have made immense progress in our knowledge of the role of the calcium ion in the excitation-contraction coupling of the arterial smooth mus cle. Investigation of the molecular mechanisms controlling the cellu lar basis of calcium ion action has been established with the discovery of the calcium binding protein (Ebashi 1963). The participation of the calcium induced calcium mechanism in the contraction of muscle has been directly demonstrated by using chemically skinned smooth muscle fibers (Endo et al. 1977). Methods for intracellular free cal cium contents and calcium channel activity have been developed and contribute to the study of the role of the calcium ion in arterial smooth muscle contractility. Such recent progress promotes study of the basic physiological, biochemical, and molecular properties of the calcium channel, and, in the field of hypertension research, the sodium and potassium channels."

It is a great pleasure for me to contribute a few words as an achieved by many heart transplant centers and the ever improving results of lung transplantation and the functioning of mechanical introduction to the second edition of this volume, first published in 1990 when it was edited by David Cooper and Dimitri cardiac assist devices. Novitzky. The first edition was, in fact, a greatly expanded The current editors bring a wealth of expertise and experience version of an even earlier volume Heart Transplantation, edited to their task, and have blended together absolutely superb con by David Cooper and Robert Lanza and published in 1984. This tributions by many of the world's experts in their fields. This first work, authored by members of the medical staff of Groote comprehensive and highly readable volume documents the Schuur Hospital and the University of Cape Town Medical present 'state of the art' in the field of transplantation and School, was, I believe, the first volume reviewing this relatively replacement of thoracic organs. It provides an invaluable and un new field of medicine. paralleled source of information for those concerned with heart and lung medicine or surgery, and is essential reading for all who The present volume, therefore, continues the documentation of wish to keep abreast of developments in this field.

The primary goal of this book is to survey issues pertaining to coronary venous retroperfusion, a potentially beneficial treatment of myocardial ischemia. Since attention will be focused on the myocardium, its normal or deranged antegrade perfusion will be discussed first, along with factors affecting blood supply to region ally ischemic tissue. After pointing to coronary reperfusion and its rapidly expand ing applications, the principle of coronary venous interventions will be discussed. Recent anatomic observations are presented to clarify features of the coronary venous sytems, some of which remain inadequately defined, yet play a crucial role in determining effectiveness of all retrograde methods. The remainder of the text concentrates on the development of retroperfusion sytems designed for retrograde treatment of myocardium jeopardized by deficient ante grade blood delivery, sec ondary to coronary artery obstruction. Retroinfusion of contrast is also considered as a potential diagnostic tool. The final chapter of the book reports on recent efforts aimed at a mathematical modeling of mechanisms and effects of coronary venous interventions."

The current textbooks for specialists are too detailed. This book will be a handy pocket guide for trainee vascular radiologists, and will serve as an aide-memoire for senior vascular radiologists. Each procedure will be shown in its entirety. Rather than being a library purchase, this book will be a handy and accessible guide for quick reference aimed at clinical interventional radiologists in multidisciplinary staff rooms and angiography suites.

This book summarizes present knowledge of different mechanisms involved in the development of positive and negative consequences of cardiac adaptation. Particular attention is paid to the still underestimated adaptive cardiac responses during development, to adaptation to the frequently occurring pressure and volume overload as well as to cardiac changes, induced by enduring exercise and chronic hypoxia. Cardiac Adaptations will be of great value to cardiovascular investigators, who will find this book highly useful in their cardiovascular studies for finding solutions in diverse pathological conditions; it will also appeal to students, fellows, scientists, and clinicians interested in cardiovascular abnormalities.

This award-winning thesis investigates the mechanisms underlying cardiac arrhythmia development and termination from an entirely new perspective. By viewing the heart as a complex system, the author uses theoretical tools from nonlinear dynamics combined with numerical simulations and experiments to achieve insights into the relationship between its structure and dynamics, thereby paving the way towards innovative low-energy defibrillation strategies. The work tackles, among other things: the effect of substrate heterogeneity on the spatial-temporal dynamics of cardiac arrhythmias and ways in which weak pulsed electric fields can be used to control these dynamics in heterogeneous cardiac tissue. The long-term vision of this research is to replace the current strategy of applying painful and sometimes tissue damaging electric shock - currently the only reliable way to terminate life-threatening fibrillation - by a more subtle but equally effective intervention. The book maps out a number of promising research directions for biophysicists and medical researchers working on the origins and treatment of cardiac arrhythmias.

Coronary heart disease remains the leading cause of death in both men and women in most industrialized countries. Yet it is largely preventable, and health care providers can acquire the skills to help their patients reduce their risks substantially. Traditional risk factors such as cigarette smoking, hypercholesterolimia, hypertension, sedentary lifestyle, obesity and glucose intolerance explain a major proportion of coronary events. Recent evidence also suggests important adjunctive roles for hormone replacement therapy in postmenopausal women, and aspirin prophlaxis in individuals at high risk of a first myocardial infarction. Emerging evidence indicates an important role for diet in the prevention of heart disease. Although the importance of lifestyle and behavioral modifications may well be known among physicians and other health-care providers, the implementation of this knowledge has been limited. One reason is that the information supporting the value, feasibility and cost-effectiveness of risk-reduction strategies has not been previously synthesized and made widely available to health-care providers in office and community settings.
Prevention of Myocardial Infarction fills these critical gaps by providing a state-of-the-art compendium of the scientific evidence on the efficacy of coronary disease prevention, while focusing on helping clinicians develop intervention skills to utilize available knowledge. Chapters by leading authorities in cardiovascular epidemiology, clinical cardiology, cost-effectiveness analysis, and public health translate the theory of preventive cardiology into feasible implementation. The counseling and other intervention strategies described in thistextbook have documented clinical efficacy and cost-effectiveness, and they require little time to learn or implement. The book is written mainly for primary care providers, including general internists and family physicians, but will also be of interest to medical subspecialties such as cardiologists and endocrinologists, as well as medical students, dietitians, psychologists, epidemiologists, and students, practitioners, and researchers in public health.

Understanding the many complex cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying human vascular diseases is essential in improving the treatment of this important and wide-ranging group of diseases that affect a large proportion of the world po- lation. This book is based on lectures presented at an International Vascular Biology Workshop held in London and chaired by Professor Dame Carol Black. The c- tents are complemented by some invited chapters, all written by world experts in areas of basic science and clinical medicine highly relevant to vascular biology and disease. We are particularly grateful to Professor Arshed Quyyumi, Professor of Medicine and Cardiology at Emory University, who with his research group and clinical colleagues, has provided a substantial contribution to this book. In common with our previous book - Vascular Complications in Human Disease: Mechanisms and Consequences published by Springer in 2008, our aim with this book is to highlight some of the established relationships between basic science and clinical medicine, and to outline new and exciting fields of research and practice in vascular biology and pathobiology. There are two sections: Basic Science of Vascular Biology and Clinical Aspects of Vascular Biology. In the first section, dealing with basic science, we have included three important growth areas: "Genetics and Gene Therapy" cover approaches to gene therapy and delivery systems, "Animal Models to Study Vascular Disease" with chapters on animal models of scleroderma, animal models of atherosclerosis, and finally on the endothelin system.

There are growing questions regarding the safety, quality, risk management, and costs of PCC teams, their training and preparedness, and their implications on the welfare of patients and families. This innovative book, authored by an international authorship, will highlight the best practices in improving survival while paving a roadmap for the expected changes in the next 10 years as healthcare undergoes major transformation and reform. An invited group of experts in the field will participate in this project to provide the timeliest and informative approaches to how to deal with this global health challenge. The book will be indispensable to all who treat pediatric cardiac disease and will provide important information about managing the risk of patients with pediatric and congenital cardiac disease in the three domains of: the analysis of outcomes, the improvement of quality, and the safety of patients.

Vortex Formation in the Cardiovascular System will recapitulate the current knowledge about the vortex formation in the cardiovascular system, from mechanics to cardiology. This can facilitate the interaction between basic scientists and clinicians on the topic of the circulatory system. The book begins with a synopsis of the fundamentals aspects of fluid mechanics to give the reader the essential background to address the proceeding chapters. Then the fundamental elements of vortex dynamics will be discussed, explaining the conditions for their formation and the rules governing their dynamics. The main equations are accompanied by mathematical models. Cardiovascular vortex formation is first analyzed in physiological, healthy conditions in the heart chambers and in the large arterial vessels. The analysis is initially presented with an intuitive appeal grounded on the physical phenomena and a focus on its clinical significance.In the proceeding chapters, the knowledge gained from either clinical or basic science literature will be discussed. The corresponding mathematical elements will finally be presented to ensure the adequate diligence. The proceeding chapters ensue to the analysis of pathological conditions, when the reader may have developed the ability to recognize normal from abnormal vortex formation phenomenon. Pathological vortex formation represents vortices that develop at sites where normally laminar flow should exist, e.g. stenosis and aneurisms. This analysis naturally leads to the interaction of vortices due to the surgical procedures with respect to prediction of changes in vortex formation. The existing techniques, from medical imaging to numerical simulations, to explore vortex flows in the cardiovascular systems will also be described. The presentations are accompanied by the mathematical definitions can that be understandable for reader without the advanced mathematical background, while an interested reader with more advanced knowledge in mathematics can be referred to references for further quantitative analyses. The book pursues the objective to transfer the fundamental vortex formation phenomena with application to the cardiovascular system to the reader. This book will be a valuable support for physicians in the evaluation of vortex influence on diagnosis and therapeutic choices. At the same time, the book will provide the rigorous information for research scientists, either from medicine and mechanics, working on the cardiovascular circulation incurring with the physics of vortex dynamics.

This volume contains selected papers presented at the Sendai International Sympo sium on Molecular and Cellular Mechanisms of Cardiovascular Regulation held from May 10-12, 1995, to honor the contributions ofProfessorNorio Taira, Chairman of the Department of Pharmacology (1972-1995), Tohoku University School of Medicine, Sendai, Japan. The Department of Pharmacology at Sendai has a long tradition of significant contribution to the development of drug therapy for cardiovascular diseases. The late Professor Koroku Hashimoto, the predecessor of Professor Norio Taira, first suggested the mode of action of calcium antagonists and their potential usefulness in therapy of ischemic heart disease and hypertension at an early stage of their development. The need for greater understanding of the pathophysiology of cardiovascular dis eases is more critical now than ever before because modern advances in basic and clinical sciences have prolonged the average life expectancy. Using a wide range of molecular and electrophysiological techniques, major advances are occurring frequently in the field of cardiovascular physiology and pharmacology. Such multifaceted approaches are preferred because human cardiovascular diseases are complex, requiring multiple interventions and an in-depth understanding of molecular mechanisms underlying the disease. The first section of this book focuses on molecular mechanisms of ion channel regulation. Eight of ten chapters in this section are devoted to the recent advances in molecular characterization and regulation of various types of potassium channels in cardiac, vascular, and neuronal tissues. A discussion of the structure and function of sodium and calcium channels is also included."

This book is exceptional in being devoted solely to vasovagal syncope (VVS), the most frequent cause of transient loss of consciousness in the general population. All aspects of VVS are covered, including epidemiology, pathophysiology, diagnosis and differential diagnosis, prognosis, therapy and implications for particular activities such as work, driving and physical activity. The context for the book is that about half of the population suffer from this type of loss of consciousness during their lifetime and then often call for general practitioner and/or emergency room assistance. While many pathophysiological aspects of VVS have been clarified, others remain elusive. The diagnosis of VVS may be easy, but it is sometimes challenging. From the therapeutic standpoint, few evidence-based therapies have been established and the large majority of treatments remain unsatisfactory. Vasovagal Syncope presents the latest evidence on all these issues and will be of value for internists, cardiologists, neurologists, emergency physicians and general practitioners.

Not long ago, it was assumed that coronary heart disease mainly--or only--affected men. Now that CHD is recognized as a leading killer of women as well as men, numerous research studies have been made of its diverse presentations in women, causal factors, and possibilities for prevention and treatment. The expert contributions to Psychosocial Stress and Cardiovascular Disease in Women span the results of this cross-disciplinary awareness. This progressive resource takes a three-dimensional approach to its subject, focusing on epidemiology and risk factors for heart disease in women, the psycho- and neurobiology of stress and coronary disease, and promising clinical interventions. Chapters identify and analyze multiple intersections of social, biological, and psychological factors in affecting women's heart health, from the social dimensions of depression to genetic/environmental interactions to the demands of balancing work and family. These wide-ranging findings will assist and motivate professionals in choosing and creating interventions, developing appropriate prevention strategies, and reducing gender-based disparities in health care. Among the topics covered: Enhancing women's heart health: a global perspective. Coronary heart disease in women: evolution of our knowledge. Gender observations on basic physiological stress mechanisms in men and women. Sleep as a means of recovery and restitution in women. LifeSkills training: benefiting both genders, for different reasons. Gender considerations in psychosocial-behavioral interventions for coronary heart disease. In particular this book will be helpful for cardiologists and other clinicians who may ask themselves why patients do not seem to make rational choices. "Why do patients not follow the advice they are offered?" is a common complaint. The role of psychosocial stress for patient compliance and adherence can be traced throughout the volume. It is emphasized in the chapters on psychosocial interventions along with other tangible and conceptual suggestions and experiences with psychosocial stress and life style change. Psychosocial Stress and Cardiovascular Disease in Women offers a deep practical level of understanding of this epidemic to help expand the work of health and clinical psychologists, sociologists, cardiologists, primary care physicians, and epidemiologists.

This book describes those psychological features specifically characteristic of patients with congenital heart disease, from birth to adulthood. The combination of case studies, descriptions of life experiences and psychological recommendations and collaboration with non-profit organizations in the field ensure that it will serve as an excellent day-to-day learning tool. Technological advances in cardiology and cardiac surgery have resulted in an increase in the number of adults with congenital heart disease, creating a new emergency. From when they are born, these patients and their relatives require extensive support for many reasons, including the uncertainty and restrictions in their lives, frequent hospitalizations and difficulties in the work and social spheres. Clinical Psychology and Congenital Heart Disease explains how psychology can contribute to healthcare treatment of patients with congenital heart disease and their families. Emphasis is placed on the need for a multidisciplinary approach to ensure the well-being of the patient and the clinician is provided with insights and instruments that will assist greatly in the provision of appropriate support.