‘Jauhar weaves his own personal and family story into his history of the heart…very effectively… This gives a certain dramatic tension to the book, as it tells the fascinating and rather wonderful history of cardiology.’ –Henry Marsh, New Statesman

A Mail on Sunday Book of the Year

The heart lies at the centre of life. For cardiologist Sandeep Jauhar it is an obsession.

In this fascinating history he interweaves gripping scenes from the operating theatre with the moving tale of his family’s history of heart problems – from the death of his grandfather to the ominous signs of how he himself might die.

Jauhar looks at the pioneers who risked patients’ lives and their own careers, and confronts the limits of medical technology, arguing that how we live is more important than any device or drug we may invent. Heart is the all-encompassing story of the engine of life.

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of morbidity and mortality in the United States and around the world. Major risk factors for CVD result from poor lifestyle habits and practices, but the area of lifestyle medicine has emerged to help clinicians and their patients understand the power of positive lifestyle habits and actions. Written by cardiologist and lifestyle medicine pioneer, Dr. James Rippe, Integrating Lifestyle Medicine in Cardiovascular Health and Disease Prevention introduces the principles of lifestyle medicine with the practice of cardiology to help lower the risk of heart disease and, if already present, assist in its treatment. This book provides evidence-based information on both the prevention and treatment of CVD through lifestyle measures such as regular physical activity, sound nutrition, weight management and avoidance of tobacco products. This information aids physicians and patients to better understand multiple linkages between poor habits and practices, employing them with associated behavioral techniques to lessen the likelihood of developing CVD. Features: Summarizes major issues in CVD including heart attack, stroke, atrial fibrillation, high blood pressure, lipid abnormalities and obesity. Provides protocols for overcoming a sedentary lifestyle and using lifestyle medicine techniques to optimize brain health. Empowers clinicians with vital information for consultations on the power of lifestyle medicine practices, both to treat symptoms if already present or to prevent major components of CVD from developing in the future. Written for practitioners at all levels, this user-friendly volume in the Lifestyle Medicine series is valuable to practitioners in general medicine or subspecialty practices including lifestyle medicine and cardiology.

"Heart Failure: From Research to Clinical Practice" contains chapters that describe the current views on the biological mechanisms, clinical assessment, diagnosis and evidence-based treatments of the condition. Topics in this volume range from basic research at cell and molecular level to patient care in everyday clinical practice and provide essential background information and analyses of recent advances for a deeper understanding of the issues involved. With contributions from international experts in their specified fields and are suitable for both beginners and more advanced readers. This volume includes not only the essential information for clinical practice but also the latest information from the contemporary guidelines and the recommendations from leading societies. It also covers ongoing research and puts forward new hypotheses that can be tested in future research. This comprehensive volume will provide a valuable resource for both research students and expert clinicians.

The Impact of Nutrition and Statins on Cardiovascular Diseases presents a summary of the background information and published research on the role of food in inhibiting the development of cardiovascular diseases. Written from a food science, food chemistry, and food biochemistry perspective, the book provides insights on the origin of cardiovascular diseases, an analysis of statin therapy, their side effects, and the role of dietary intervention as an alternative solution to preventing cardiovascular diseases. It focuses on the efficacy of nutrition and statins to address inflammation and inhibit the onset of disease, while also providing nutrition information and suggested dietary interventions.

Our hearts have evolved to be extremely efficient, long-lasting pumps that exquisitely match the needs of our bodies. This book is about how the heart does this; how can a heart pump the blood for up to 100 years while the best Formula 1 racing engine has a working life measured in hours? Why is the heart so efficient, and how are worn out parts replaced while working? How does it generate the force to act as a pump, how is it controlled electrically, and how can it repair itself?This book addresses these questions from physiological and molecular perspectives in language that aims to be accessible to all interested in biology and with liberal illustrations.The story of how the heart works is presented in the context of its origins:The book begins with a discussion of why the word heart is universally used as a metaphor for reason and emotion and traces its origins in modern and ancient languages. The last chapter offers advice on how to preserve the heart by matching our lifestyles more closely to how it evolved.

Leading researchers are specially invited to provide a complete understanding of a key topic within the multidisciplinary fields of physiology, biochemistry and pharmacology. In a form immediately useful to scientists, this periodical aims to filter, highlight and review the latest developments in these rapidly advancing fields.

In recent years magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has enriched the technological potential available for the characterization of cardiovascular pathologies, adding substantial advantages to other non-invasive techniques. This technique, which is intrinsically digital and has reduced operator dependency, allows the performance of image analysis in a quantitative and reproducible manner.

The use of non-ionizing energy with the consequent absence of an environmental impact and of operator and patient biohazards makes MRI a winning technique when evaluating the risk - benefit ratio in comparison to other imaging methods.

In virtue of its added diagnostic value and inherent refinements that allow construction of two- and three-dimensional images, MRI is gaining a primary role in the histopathological and physiopathological understanding of a large number of pathologies concerning the heart and vessels.

This text is addressed both to MRI operators seeking specific technical information and to clinicians who wish to have a better understanding of the diagnostic and management advantages that MRI can offer.

Vascular dementia, caused by multiple small strokes, is the second commonest cause of dementia behind Alzheimer's disease. In recent years there has been a radical reappraisal of the concept of vascular dementia and a move away from an Alzheimer-based diagnostic paradigm towards one more appropriately tailored for vascular disease. Vascular Cognitive Impairment presents a new definition for this class of cerebrovascular process with an emphasis on early detection, prompt treatment and the prevention of disease progression.

Vascular Cognitive Impairment: Preventable Dementia presents an overview of the current state of our knowledge in this field. It reviews the historical background, prevalence, risk factors and economic consequences of the condition. In addition, the book summarises our knowledge of the pathological process, describing insight derived from genetic and imaging studies, before examining opportunities for early diagnosis, prevention and the options for management, both now, and as a result of ongoing clinical trials.

With contributions from an expert team of international contributors, this book provides a comprehensive summary of the state-of-the-art in this field, providing a framework for a new understanding of a complex, disabling but Preventable condition.

Ischemic Preconditioning: The Concept of Endogenous Cardioprotection consolidates, in one volume, both current knowledge and the most recent advances in ischemic preconditioning. The editors have invited investigators at the forefront of ongoing research to provide their scholarly and candid comments concerning each of these issues. This volume includes a comprehensive review of infarct size reduction with ischemic preconditioning, and the most recent data on the effects of preconditioning on ischemia and reperfusion-induced arrhythmias, myocardial metabolism, contractile function, and the coronary vasculature. The role of altered energy metabolism, stress-induced proteins, ATP-sensitive potassium channels, and adenosine -- the major hypotheses that have been proposed to explain the cardioprotective effects of ischemic preconditioning -- are critically reviewed by investigators who have been instrumental in developing these concepts. In addition, the editors raise the intriguing possibility that ischemic preconditioning may be more than simply a laboratory curiosity. Using a multidisciplinary approach, this volume challenges the readers to contribute their own expertise to address the unanswered questions concerning this endogenous, cardioprotective phenomenon.

This book provides a guiding thread between the distant fields of fluid mechanics and clinical cardiology. Well rooted in the science of fluid dynamics, it drives the reader across progressively more realistic scenarios up to the complexity of routine medical applications. Based on the author's 25 years of collaborations with cardiologists, it helps engineers learn communicating with clinicians, yet maintaining the rigor of scientific disciplines. This book starts with a description of the fundamental elements of fluid dynamics in large blood vessels. This is achieved by introducing a rigorous physical background accompanied by examples applied to the circulation, and by presenting classic and recent results related to the application of fluid dynamics to the cardiovascular physiology. It then explores more advanced topics for a physics-based understanding of phenomena effectively encountered in clinical cardiology. It stands as an ideal learning resource for physicists and engineers working in cardiovascular fluid dynamics, industry engineers working on biomedical/cardiovascular technology, and students in bio-fluid dynamics. Written with a concise style, this textbook is accessible to a broad readership, including students, physical scientists and engineers, offering an entry point into this multi-disciplinary field. It includes key concepts exemplified by illustrations using cutting-edge imaging, references to modelling and measurement technologies, and includes unique original insights.

Fundamentals of Congenital Minimally Invasive Cardiac Surgery is a first of its kind, fully-illustrated guide that is solely dedicated to the most diffused congenital minimally invasive cardiac surgery procedures. It provides detailed, step-by-step descriptions of surgical maneuvers to underline each aspect of the procedures along with full color drawings and operative pictures to enhance understanding. Each chapter fully describes the preoperative setting, the needed materials and the required technical skills that make specific congenital heart defects amenable to minimally invasive surgical treatment. This is the perfect go-to reference for pediatric and congenital cardiac surgeons, and is also a must-have guide for residents in cardiac surgery who are looking to review the technical aspects and outcomes of utilizing a minimally invasive approach for cardiac surgery.

Angioplasty has completely transformed the treatment of coronary artery disease and is widely used, with more than 800,000 procedures performed worldwide per year. However, the enthusiasm for angioplasty is shadowed by restenosis, which remains a critical problem after the procedure, resulting in clinical recurrence in over a third of patients. Recently, the mechanisms of restenosis have been completely reappraised with an enriched understanding that the original concept of neointimal hyperplasia may not be accounting for the bulk of the problem. There is a desperate need to heighten understanding of the remodeling process at the molecular, cellular, and arterial level. Vascular remodeling is a well established concept in the field of atherosclerosis and hypertension, but only in recent years has its applicability to the field of restenosis become pivotal. Accordingly, the editors perceived the need to assemble the first book dedicated to the concept of coronary artery remodeling in restenosis, in order to clearly review the experiments leading to the remodeling hypothesis and integrate this with the neointimal hyperplasia (tumor) model for the development of the restenotic lesion. The authors of this book present their experience to facilitate the understanding of the mechanisms for coronary restenosis and remodeling. The various experimental models, clinical issues, and basic mechanisms are reviewed in detail, resulting in a fresh approach to a vexing clinical problem. Arterial Remodeling: A Critical Factor in Restenosis will be useful to the physician and trainee who have an interest in restenosis, and specifically in the major pathophysiologic process which determines the fate of arterial healing in patients following percutaneous coronary revascularization. It is hoped that this book will lay the foundation for more effective therapies that will reduce the chance of constrictive remodeling and improve the long-term efficacy of non-surgical coronary revascularization in the future.

Many athletes suffer health and sports consequences related to inadequate nutrition to meet their sports demands. It often goes unrecognized and untreated if they do not have the stereotypical diagnosis of an “eating disorder.” Highly marketable for those looking to gain an extra edge above the competition by maximizing their health through appropriate nutrition and mental work. The book has background information on the problem and serves as an instruction manual for coaches and parents. Female athletes’ personal narratives are dispersed within the information.

by JULIEN IE HOFFMAN One of the earliest coronary physiologists was Scaramucci who, in 1695, postu lated that during systole the contracting myocardium inhibited coronary blood flow. Since then, the many contributions that have been made to our knowledge of the coronary circulation can be arbitrarily divided into three phases based on advances in technical methods. The early phase of research into the coronary circulation, done with great difficulty with crude methods, may be regarded as ending in the 1940s, and it included major discoveries made by such well known investigators as Georg von Anrep, Ernest Starling, Carl Wiggers, and Louis Katz, who formulated much of our basic understanding of the field. After 1940, the field of coronary physiology entered a new phase when instruments for high fidelity registration of coronary flow and pressure became available. This era was domi nated by Donald Gregg who combined careful attention to the function of these instruments (some of which he helped to develop) with an extraordinary ability to discern mechanisms from apparently minor changes in coronary flow and pressure patterns. His book 'The Coronary Circulation in Health and Disease' set a new standard in the field. After 1960, techniques for measuring regional myocardial blood flow became available, and enabled a large group of eminent investigators to make major advances in understanding the physiology and pathophysiology of myocardial blood flow."

First volume selling primarily in the United States, push for more global promotion. "non-invasivel" related healing modalities and environmental medicine are both very hot topics. There are not any existing books with this dual focus that have an accompanying successful volume on nutrition and integrative medicine.

HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors (statins) are established drugs for the treatment of hypercholesterolemia. Furthermore, they induce regression of vascular atherosclerosis as well as reduction of cardiovascular-related morbidity and death in patients with and without coronary artery disease. This book deals with statins which have substantially altered the approach to therapy of atherosclerosis and its sequelae. Emphasis is placed on the scientific background to the discoveries and the development of the therapy, including an overview of the current state of knowledge of the drugs. Clinical data are reviewed extensively. This book not only provides the reader with valuable information but also stimulates further research into the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis and the mechanisms behind the action of effective statins. It sets the stage for creative thinking among scientists of many disciplines for the accomplishment of our ultimate goals in treating atherosclerosis and its sequelae. This topical volume...

This book presents a comprehensive and state-of the-art approach to vascular disease for the geriatric patient, focusing on vascular pathology and interventions but also on perioperative care, anesthetic care, functional outcomes and quality of life, as well as ethical considerations that impact decision making. The book addresses open and endovascular interventions in different vascular beds, as well as preoperative workup and optimization, anesthetic considerations, all aspects and expectations of the postoperative care and recovery and is the only book to include specialize in the intricacies of the care of the geriatric patients, the challenging recovery and neurocognitive changes, and ethical considerations for the end stage geriatric patient or in the setting of postoperative complications. Written by experts in the field, each section addresses patient selection, pre-operative considerations, technical conduct of the most common operations with open or endovascular options, and avoiding complications. A brief review of the existing literature addressing the particular topic follows in each section. With its concise yet comprehensive summary of the field, Vascular Disease in Older Adults is the ultimate resource for geriatricians, cardiologists, surgeons, anesthesiologists, and all physicians of who care for the aging patient with vascular disease.

First volume selling primarily in the United States, push for more global promotion. "non-invasivel" related healing modalities and environmental medicine are both very hot topics. There are not any existing books with this dual focus that have an accompanying successful volume on nutrition and integrative medicine.

In this issue of Interventional Cardiology Clinics, guest editor Dr. Allen Jeremias brings his considerable expertise to the topic of Intracoronary Physiology and Its Use in Interventional Cardiology. Assessment of intra-coronary physiology can guide percutaneous coronary intervention and is often used for angiographically borderline stenoses. There is now increasing evidence to suggest that more routine use can improve clinical outcomes. In this issue, top experts bring you fully up to date in this key area of interventional cardiology. Contains 13 practice-oriented topics including updates in coronary physiology: what about all the negative trials?; physiology for post-PCI assessment; physiology and intravascular imaging co-registration; CT-derived physiology assessment; targeted therapies for microvascular disease; and more. Provides in-depth clinical reviews on intracoronary physiology and its use in interventional cardiology, offering actionable insights for clinical practice. Presents the latest information on this timely, focused topic under the leadership of experienced editors in the field. Authors synthesize and distill the latest research and practice guidelines to create clinically significant, topic-based reviews.

Omega-3 fatty acids can limit the inflammation that is the underlying cause of many severe diseases of modern civilization, including diabetes and cardiovascular disease. The Omega-Factor: Promoting Health, Preventing Premature Aging and Reducing the Risk of Sudden Cardiac Death presents information on the mechanisms whereby inflammation damages organs and the blood vessels serving them, as well as the hard science on the mechanisms by which the omega-3 fatty acids protect those tissues. It also features peer-reviewed evidence from clinical trials on these topics. The book gives cutting-edge information from state-of-the-art developments such as the test that can be done to measure the Omega 3 status of one's own tissues, the "Omega 3 Index", which can give many years of early warning so that one can take preventive steps and decrease the odds of a heart attack, stroke, or kidney disease. It explains why a Mediterranean diet plan rich in omega 3 and omega 6 fatty acids is protective, and it features a six-day meal plan with recipes that will improve body levels of omega 3s. This book helps readers understand the differences between various sources of omega-3 fatty acids, namely flax seed vs. fish oil vs. algae-derived oils. Features: * Provides evidence-based information on why blood vessels require omega-3 fatty acids to maintain health. * Details best sources of the various fatty acids, including plant-based sources. * Includes "at-home tests" to assess cardiovascular status. * Presents literature to how to improve chances of avoiding heart attacks, peripheral arterial disease, strokes, kidney disease, and Type-2 Diabetes. The Omega-Factor: Promoting Health, Preventing Premature Aging and Reducing the Risk of Sudden Cardiac Death is an essential resource for healthcare professionals, clinicians, and dietitians, as well as for the reader who aims to achieve the goal of a much longer health-span, not just a longer lifespan.

Nitric oxide is an integral constituent of human health and its contribution towards cardiovascular, reproductive, and sexual health. All assertions are carefully referenced with citations from conventional medical journals This is the first professional resource on health benefits of flaxseed.

Nitric oxide is an integral constituent of human health and its contribution towards cardiovascular, reproductive, and sexual health. All assertions are carefully referenced with citations from conventional medical journals This is the first professional resource on health benefits of flaxseed.

This book is devoted solely to the tricuspid valve and its role in congenital heart disease. Tricuspid valve anomalies are part of the pathological spectrum in various congenital heart diseases, including Ebstein anomaly and tricuspid valve dysplasia, with different pathophysiology and clinical implications. This book covers all relevant aspects of such anomalies, including diagnosis, therapy and follow-up. Further topics addressed include the way in which the tricuspid valve may become the "systemic" valve in some congenital diseases, with important consequences and the involvement of the tricuspid valve in the right-sided heart complications often seen in adults with congenital heart disease. All of the chapters are written by internationally recognized experts and are designed to deliver state of the art knowledge of practical value. This book will be an important addition to the library for surgeons, cardiologists and other practitioners involved in the management of patients with congenital heart disease.

A better understanding of the pathophysiology of renal failure coupled with technological advances in dialysis techniques and renal transplantation have greatly improved the prognosis and survival for patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD). Unfortunately, the advances and success of treatment are limited by a number of extrarenal complications that can cause significant morbidity and mortality. Of these, cardiovascular abnormalities are the most common, with cardiac complications alone accounting for more than 40% of deaths in international registries. The importance of cardiovascular complications has become more apparent in recent years with the increased prevalence of diabetes mellitus and vascular nephropathy and with the general ageing of patients with ESRD. The past decade has witnessed enormous advances in understanding the causes and pathophysiology of cardiovascular disease, and their diagnosis, treatment, and prevention. It is, therefore, of importance for physicians caring for patients with end- stage renal failure to understand the pathogenesis of cardiovascular complications, to become familiar with modern diagnostic tools and techniques, and to recognise and treat these complications. The goal of this text is to provide a comprehensive review of the pathophysiology and clinical manifestations of the principal cardiovascular complications in patients with chronic renal failure. The text is intended to assist nephrologists, cardiologists, and internists who care for these patients. The book includes nineteen chapters and is organised in three parts. The first includes three chapters dealing with the epidemiology of cardiovascular disease in patients with end-sage renal failure. The second comprises eight chapters on the basic pathophysiology and pathobiology of cardiovascular diseases in the setting of end- stage renal failure. The third includes eight chapters focussing on clinical manifestations and diagnosis of cardiovascular disease in patients with end-stage renal failure and their management.