Excellent end of life care for people with heart failure is challenging but possible. Failure to address this aspect of care has serious consequences for patients, their families, clinicians and the use of health resources. Heart Failure: From Advanced Disease to Bereavement illustrates the complexity and importance of end of life care for patients with advanced heart failure. This book is a pocket reference for everyday use in the clinic, ward or home visit for all doctors, nurses and AHPs caring for people with advanced heart failure. It outlines the underlying pathophysiology of heart failure, summarises standard pharmacological and device therapy, and sets the context of the challenges resulting from an unpredictable course of disease. In easily digestible summaries, this book presents practical advice about how and when to integrate a palliative care approach alongside standard heart failure management, how to communicate honestly in the face of uncertainty, the rationalisation of medication and device therapies at the end of life, symptom control, care for the dying, and care after death.

Disease conditions that affect the human heart and the methods used to diagnose and treat them are all covered in one concise volume. Written by a past president of the Boston Chapter of the American Heart Association, Heart Disease is a comprehensive account of the leading cause of death in the West. Sequential chapters describe the structure and function of the heart, the various disease states, and the treatments for each major disease. In addition, the book examines the vast array of diagnostic tests and the most advanced treatments available, from basic drugs for prevention such as aspirin to transplants and artificial hearts. Dr. de Silva, who teaches at Harvard Medical School, also covers historical aspects of heart disease, discoveries about the structure and function of the heart, and the ways in which heart disease can be diagnosed and treated. Underlying conditions that affect the heart are described and linked to the treatments and devices used to correct disease conditions. Illustrations include diagrams of the heart, examples of test results, and images of devices used to treat heart disease A glossary defines medical terms used in the book

This issue of Cardiac Electrophysiology Clinics, Guest Edited by Drs. Mohammad Shenasa, Prashanthan Sanders, and Stanley Nattel, is dedicated to Risk Factors in Atrial Fibrillation: Appraisal of AF Risk Stratification. This is one of four issues selected each year by the series Consulting Editors, Ranjan K. Thakur and Andrea Natale. Topics include, but are not limited to, Epidemiology of Atrial Fibrillation; Hypertension, Prehypertension, Hypertensive Heart Disease and Atrial Fibrillation; Pulmonary Disease, Pulmonary Hypertension and Atrial Fibrillation; Heart Failure with Preserved (HFpEF) and Reduced (HFrEF) LV Systolic Function, Diastolic Dysfunction; Coronary Artery Disease; ECG and Echo Abnormalities in Patients with Atrial Fibrillation Risk Factors; Diabetes and Endocrine Disorders; Obesity and Metabolic Syndrome in Atrial Fibrillation; Renal Disease; Sleep Apnea and Atrial Fibrillation; Channelopathies in Atrial Fibrillation; Implications of Inflammation and Myocardial Fibrosis in Atrial Fibrillation; Role of Biomarkers in Atrial Fibrillation; Left Ventricular Hypertrophy and Other Cardiomyopathies in Atrial Fibrillation; Atrial Fibrillation in Valvular Heart Disease; Atrial Fibrillation in Adult Congenital Heart Disease; Exercise and Athletic Activity in Atrial Fibrillation; Post-op Atrial Fibrillation; Autonomic Dysfunction and Neurohormonal Disorders in Atrial Fibrillation; Social Risk Factors; Atrial Fibrillation and Stroke; Screening for Atrial Fibrillation Risk Factors; Primary Care and Internists Perspective on Atrial Fibrillation Risk Factors; and Lifestyle as a Risk Factor for Atrial Fibrillation.

The development of a bio-engineered pacemaker is of substantial clinical and also scientific interest because it promises to overcome several limitations of electronic pacemakers. Moreover it may answer the longstanding question of whether the complex structure of the sinus node is indeed a prerequisite for reliable pacemaking, or simpler structures might work as well.

This book gives an overview of the current state-of-the-art of creating a bio-engineered pacemaker. It shows the approaches to develop of genetic and cell-based engineering methods suitable to implement them with safety and stability. It also illuminates the problems that need to be solved before bio-pacemaking can be considered for clinical use.

Leslie T. Cooper, Jr., MD, and a panel of leading clinical and scientific experts comprehensively review both advances in basic scientific understanding and current clinical knowledge of inflammatory heart disease. On the clinical side they discuss the diagnosis, prognosis, and treatment of nonspecific and specific myocarditis in separate chapters devoted to such major idiopathic clinical entities as cardiac sarcoidosis, giant cell myocarditis, eosinophilic myocarditis, Chagas disease, rheumatic fever, and human immunodeficiency virus-related cardiomyopathy. Research articles complete the picture with discussions of the role of apoptosis in viral myocarditis, rat and mouse models of autoimmune giant cell and lymphocytic myocarditis, and the latest available data on enteroviral proteases and cardiomyopathy.

Dr Shor believes it is important for every medical practitioner to be aware of the new aspects of this disease, and that all facts concerning the circumstances, the finding of the germ, the specific pathological features and other aspects which change the concept of heart attacks, remarkably, methods of diagnoses of the lesion should all be known. Details and facets of the lesion are necessary for assessment, acceptance or rejection of this very important new disease, by the scientific community. It opens up new diagnosis and treatments, with potential cure and eradication of this deadly disease. Immunization or eradication of this germ if possible will open new horizons.

This book provides an up-to-date review of the fundamentals of lipid metabolism and its role in cardiovascular diseases. Focusing on lipid transfer proteins in the circulation and cells, the role of important lipid transporters, the effect of recently discovered lipid binding proteins, and the link between lipid metabolism disorders and cardiovascular diseases, it covers phospholipid transfer protein, cholesteryl ester transfer protein, lipopolysaccharide binding protein, microsomal triglyceride transfer protein, ABC binding cassette members, and more. The book offers graduate students and researchers a coherent overview of lipid transfer and transport, as well as the limitations of current research in the field, and promotes further studies on cardiovascular diseases, as well as pharmaceutical research on drug discovery based on lipid transfer, transport, and binding.

A range of cardiac imaging techniques are available, each with a unique approach. Most existing imaging books are predominantly modality focused; however today's clinical cardiologist needs to learn how to apply and integrate information from the different modalities to aid clinical decision-making.
In full colour throughout, and based on European Society of Cardiology guidelines, Cardiac Imaging is an essential resource for all clinical trainees, It provides practical hands-on advice for cardiology, medical, radiology and technical personnel who need easily accessible, detailed information on how to use the full range of imaging modalities to investigate cardiac disease. The handbook provides a comparative overview of the different techniques and how they can be applied in different pathologies, acting as a portal to more in-depth, modality focused texts.

In this book the authors review the field and explore the potential role of RNAi and other RNA technologies in cardiovascular medicine and research. They highlight the impressive recent progress but also the hurdles that still must be overcome before this promising technology is finally ready for translation and clinical use.

This issue of Heart Failure Clinics, guest edited by Dr. Subha V. Raman, will cover key topics in Cardiovascular Magnetic Resonance. This issue is one of four issues selected each year by our series consulting editor, Dr. Eduardo Bossone. Topics discussed in this issue will include: When to use CMR for patients with heart failure; Quantifying cardiac dysfunction with CMR; CMR in heritable cardiomyopathies; CMR in ischemic cardiomyopathy; CMR in right heart and pulmonary circulation disorders; CMR of myocardial fibrosis, edema, and infiltrates in heart failure; Magnetic resonance-based characterization of myocardial architecture; CMR in valvular heart disease-related heart failure; Pericardial disease with CMR; CMR's central role in chemotherapy-induced cardiotoxicity; Intracardiac and vascular hemodynamics with CMR in heart failure; Myocardial energetics with CMR; CMR in congenital heart disease: focus on heart failure; and Machine learning in CMR applied to heart failure.

Interventional cardiology refers to catheter-based treatment of cardiovascular diseases. This dynamic new field is one of the fastest growing fields in medicine. In the United States, more than a million percutaneous coronary interventions (PCI) are performed annually; moreover, the number of procedures performed will likely continue to increase. The field of interventional cardiology has evolved dramatically over the past decade with the availability of embolic protection devices, drug eluting stents, mechanical thrombectomy catheters, etc. Interventional cardiology represents a rapidly moving target for the cardiologist who seeks to integrate recent advances into their clinical practice. The advent of newer technology presents both an opportunity as well as numerous challenges for the cardiologist to treat patients optimally. Interventional Cardiology: Essential Clinicians Guide (Oxford American Cardiology Library) aims to provide clinicians with concise, easily accessible guidance on the pre-procedural, procedural and post procedural aspects of PCI in general situations and in various specific clinical settings. The volume features evidence-based discussion on patient selection, vascular access, general principles of PCI, and various specific settings and optimal post procedure management of these patients. This handbook focuses on tailoring stent type to the individual patient, taking into account specific risk factors and comorbidities, appropriate use of embolic protection and thrombectomy catheters. Highly practical in format, content and style, Interventional Cardiology: Essential Clinician's Guide serves as a succinct, yet comprehensive, easily accessible point-of-care reference for busy practitioners. Useful tools, such as treatment algorithms, charts, tables and illustrations assist in making this volume a practical reference tool.

Despite great advances in prevention and in improving outcomes, heart disease remains a major source of morbidity and mortality in the Western world and, increasingly, in developing countries. The emotional impact of a diagnosis of heart disease can be significant, often increasing cardiac symptoms such as chest pain or palpitations. This addition to The Facts series stresses the importance and feasibility of primary prevention by appropriate life-style changes, whilst helping the reader to understand and cope with existing heart disease. The book is structured to provide information on topics ranging from basic cardiovascular anatomy and physiology - as needed to understand the various pathologies discussed - to symptoms, clinical situations, investigations and available treatments. Beside medical information, the reader will find practical advice on how to communicate with the cardiologist, and how to prepare for certain tests. A glossary with commonly encountered medical terms is also included. Although targeted mainly at cardiac patients with heart disease and their families, this book will also be useful for paramedics, specialist nurses, support groups, GPs and all those involved in treating heart patients in the community.

Since the introduction of myocardial perfusion imaging and radionuclide angiography in the mid-seventies, cardiovascular nuclear medicine has undergone an explosive growth. The use of nuclear cardiology techniques has become one of the cornerstones of the noninvasive assessment of coronary artery disease. In the past 15 years major steps have been made from visual analysis to quantitative analysis, from planar imaging to tomographic imaging, from detection of disease to prognosis, and from separate evaluations of perfusion, metabolism, and function to an integrated assessment of myocardial viability. In recent years many more advances have been made in cardiovascular nuclear imaging, such as the development of new imaging agents, reevaluation of existing procedures, and new clinical applications. This book describes the most recent developments in nuclear cardiology and also addresses new contrast agents in MRI. What's New in Cardiac Imaging will assist the clinical cardiologist, the cardiology fellow, the nuclear medicine physician, and the radiologist in understanding the most recent achievements in clinical cardiovascular nuclear imaging.

This issue of Cardiology Clinics will cover Coronary Artery Disease. Curated by Dr. Alberto Polimeni, this issue will explore topics in the field that are relevant for practicing clinicians. This issue is one of four selected each year by the series editorial board: Jamil A. Aboulhosn, David M. Shavelle, Terrence D. Welch, and Audrey H. Wu. The volume will include articles on: High sensitivity troponins in acute coronary syndromes, High bleeding risk patient with CAD, Complete revascularization in chronic coronary syndrome, Patient selection for protected PCI, Clinical applications of echo strain imaging in coronary artery disease, Mechanical circulatory support for cardiogenic shock, Impact of NO donors on atherogenesis and atherosclerosis progression, Non-invasive Imaging risk stratification for CAD, Antithrombotic therapy for patients with atrial fibrillation undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention, No-Reflow phenomenon, Coronary physiology assessment for the diagnosis and treatment of CAD, Bioresorbable coronary scaffold technologies, Non-coding RNAs in coronary artery disease, New advances in the treatment of severe coronary artery calcifications, and Refractory angina pectoris.

Knowledge of cardiac ion channels and transporters has advanced remarkably in the last two decades with the development of patch-clamp and molecular biological techniques. This textbook offers a comprehensive overview of structures and functions of ion channels and transporters in the heart. Readers are first introduced to the molecular biology and electrophysiology of all the important ion channels. After discussing their developmental changes, the pharmacology and pathophysiology of clinically-relevant ion channels are reviewed. Molecular aspects of the cardiac excitation-contraction coupling and intracellular Ca2+ regulation by ion transporters are also described. The book will be useful to electrophysiologists, cardiac physiologists and pharmacologists, and molecular biologists interested in ion channels at all levels. For research specialists, the book will provide a perspective of the field. The book can be used as a reference source for working scientists in the fields of ion channels, biophysics, cardiac electrophysiology, and pharmacology. It is aimed at graduate and medical students, designed for use as a textbook for graduate and medical courses.

Roughly one of every three Americans has some form of cardiovascular disease (CVD), including more than 70% of persons older than 75 years of age. Long associated with increased risk for mortality and disability, CVD is also a major risk factor for stroke and cerebrovascular disease. There has been growing consensus that CVD is also an important contributor to poor neurocognitive outcome in own right. Numerous studies now link CVD to accelerated cognitive decline, and structural and functional brain abnormalities, including neurodegnerative conditions in the elderly. While vascular dementia is the most obvious example of severe brain dysfunction directly tied to chronic vascular disease, evidence is also mounting that Alzheimer's disease may be linked to some of the same pathophysiological mechanisms that underlie cardiovascular disease.
This book was written to provide up-to-date insight into these heart-brain connections and the neuropsychology of CVD. Highlights include:

. Controversies in vascular dementia and vascular cognitive impairment (VCI)
. Effects of aging on cerebral hemodynamics and autoregulation
. How blood vessel function contributes to cognitive decline
. Updates on the cognitive impact of cardiosurgical procedures
. Neurocognitive aspects of heart failure
. Neuropsychological evaluation of persons with CVD
. Mechanisms by which neurological changes produce cardiac dysfunction
. Recent findings in the structural and functional neuroimaging in CVD
Both clinicians and researchers in neuropsychology, health psychology, cardiology, neurology, psychiatry, geriatrics and many others will find this book an important resource."

This book covers the latest research development in heart valve biomechanics and bioengineering, with an emphasis on novel experimentation, computational simulation, and applications in heart valve bioengineering. The most current research accomplishments are covered in detail, including novel concepts in valvular viscoelasticity, fibril/molecular mechanisms of tissue behavior, fibril kinematics-based constitutive models, mechano-interaction of valvular interstitial and endothelial cells, biomechanical behavior of acellular valves and tissue engineered valves, novel bioreactor designs, biomechanics of transcatheter valves, and 3D heart valve printing. This is an ideal book for biomedical engineers, biomechanics, surgeons, clinicians, business managers in the biomedical industry, graduate and undergraduate students studying biomedical engineering, and medical students.

Coronary Heart Disease (CHD) is the leading cause of death worldwide with 3.8 million men and 3.4 million women dying each year. Cardioprotection refers to the prevention of CHD and the clinical improvement in patients suffering from cardiovascular problems. This book focuses on the role of cardioprotection in surgery and the use of pharmacological therapies such as ACE-inhibitors, statins, and beta-blockers in order tor educe the myocardial injury sustained by the patient and the significant risk of morbidity and mortality. It includes new cardioprotective strategies aimed at improving the clinical outcomes of patients in these settings, as well as current well-established methods for reducing myocardial injury in acute coronary syndrome patients.

In summary, there are many animal models that are useful in selecting new antiarrhythmic drugs. The selection of which model is most idea depends upon precisely what question is being asked. The large number of experimental models used to evaluate antiarrhythmic compounds points out the inability of anyone model to define the probability of antiarrhythmic efficacy in man. It has therefore become standard practice to utilize a batter of animal models for the evaluation of new antiarrhythmic agents. Each model has its own advantages and disadvantages and it is necessary to understand each model fully in oder to evaluate experimental findings and apply them to clinical settings. We believe that the availability of the chronic myocardial infarction ventricular tachyarrhythmia model provides 1) an excellent opportunity to more precisely understand arrhythmia mechanisms, 2) to develop new techniques such as signal averaging for evaluating late low level potentials identifying hearts at high risk of sudden death 3) to identify new antifibrillatory drugs versus drugs that are effective primarily against PVC's and ventricular tachycardia 4) to identify new surgical techniques to eliminate VT/VF, and 5) to evaluate new pacing modalities including implantable cardioverters. Although all animal models are wrong, many are very useful in furthering our knowledge directed at decreasing the distressingly high mortality from heart disease. NORMAL HtART TACHYCMDIA HtART , .. '" \ I I I I I I I I I .

Hypertension is another name for high blood pressure. It can lead to severe complications and increases the risk of heart disease, stroke, and death. Blood pressure is the force exerted by the blood against the walls of the blood vessels. Comprising more than 1000 pages, this book is a complete guide to the diagnosis and management of hypertension. Divided into 19 sections, the text begins with an introduction to hypertension, its causes, risk factors, and how it presents in different sectors of the population. The next chapters discuss diagnostic methods and echocardiography. The following sections cover hypertension associated with other disorders including heart failure, stroke, renovascular diseases, metabolic syndrome, and many more. Numerous clinical management strategies are discussed in depth, as well as cardio-oncology, nutrition, and ECMO (Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation - a procedure that uses a machine to take over the work of the lungs and sometimes, the heart). A complete section is dedicated to paediatric cardiology and hypertension. With an internationally recognised editor and author team, the comprehensive text is highly illustrated with clinical photographs, diagrams and tables. The book also includes full online access. Key points Comprehensive guide to diagnosis and management of hypertension comprising over 1000 pages Internationally recognised editor and author team Highly illustrated with clinical photographs, diagrams and tables Includes full online access to the book

This volume of the series Cardiac and Vascular Biology presents the most relevant aspects of vascular mechanobiology along with many more facets of this fascinating, timely and clinically highly relevant field. Mechanotransduction, mechanosensing, fluid shear stress, hameodynamics and cell fate, are just a few topics to name. All important aspects of vascular mechanobiology in health and disease are reviewed by some of the top experts in the field. This volume, together with a second title on cardiac mechanobiology featured in this series, will be of high relevance to scientists and clinical researchers in the area of vascular biology, cardiology and biomedical engineering.

The field of electrocardiography is at a cross roads. We have reached an era in cardiovascular about the electrical state of the heart not likely to be available in any other imaging techniques. medicine where it is claimed that "imaging" is king. The innovative and useful ultrasound And, in the body surface potential map, we have an imaging technique that goes beyond struc techniques continue to develop, and, in the wings lie magnetic resonance, position emission, ture-the only other being, perhaps, magnetic resonance, which has the potential for metabolic and, perhaps, other modalities. Consequently, there are those who state that, other than the imaging. Clinical electrocardiography is impor problems related to cardiac rhythm, electro tant not only as a diagnostic tool for it can truly cardiography as a discipline is passe. In addi give insight into the effect of the disease in question on the heart muscle itself. tion, although there is continued superb work in the basic science related to arrhythmias, only Therefore, it seemed now to be appropriate to a handful of scientists are interested in the bring together leaders in the various fields of myocardial source per se. And few scientists are electrocardiography with the only constraint interested in what happens to that myocardial being a concentration on newer concepts and electrical source on its trip from the endo ideas.