Search

This 2nd edition has been extensively updated and provides comprehensive and current insight into congenital heart diseases, from embryonic development through to clinical features, including human genetics and our current knowledge of the underlying molecular pathways. The book is divided into three parts: an introduction to the development of the heart and its vessels, an overview of the molecular pathways affecting the development of various cardiovascular structures, and a main section focusing on the different types of structural and nonstructural congenital heart diseases, including their clinical features, underlying genetic alterations and insights from animal models and pathways. All chapters have been updated and new chapters added on state-of-the-art approaches including stem cells and organoids, cardiac metabolism, single cell transcriptomics and 3D reconstruction of human heart development. The clinical chapters have been extended and include new sections on diagnostic imaging techniques. Taken together, the book, written by and for clinicians and researchers, provides an integrated and up-to-date resource for all those who want to learn more about both the clinical aspects and the genetic and molecular basis of congenital heart disease. Chapter 11 is available open access under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License via link.springer.com.

This manual defines sex and gender differences in cardiovascular disease and how they have become an important topic within most subspecialities in the field of cardiology. It is now evident that sex differences in biology and lifestyle influence the pathophysiology of heart disease. Consequently risk factors for cardiac disease are modified by sex and gender, and women and men develop partly different variants of the same heart diseases. These facts profoundly influence prevention and management in clinical practice. Good medical practice demands a more tailored and personal care for each individual patient. In addition, the life-course of women has a few unique phases, related to hormonal changes in pregnancy and after menopause, that also interact with individual risk and the development of co-morbidities. As heart disease is now the number one cause of death in women worldwide, a more specific attention to cardiovascular disease in women is justified. Most important advances in gender-specific knowledge are related to ischemic heart disease and its traditional and sex-specific risk factors. Diagnostic pathways have changed, coronary angiography is no longer the gold standard that it used to be. Recent guidelines and position papers have paid attention to these new insights, whereas educational programs urgently need to be adapted. The ongoing paradigm shift in cardiology needs to be updated for the clinician in an easy and accessible manner. Other important topics in which sex and gender differences have been elaborated are heart failure, atrial fibrillation, aortic valve disease and its treatment, cardiac rehabilitation, co-morbidities, cardiotoxicity in cancer treatment and neurology. In addition, female-specific risk factors and socio-economic factors are relevant to women's cardiovascular health. We will invite the best EU experts in this field to contribute to the various chapters. Manual of Cardiovascular Disease in Women has an educational role for established cardiologists and vascular specialists in training, nurses and other allied professionals. It represents an update on the most recent insights in sex- and gender differences in cardiovascular health with a focus on women's cardiovascular diseases. Additional questions via app: Download the Springer Nature Flashcards app for free and use exclusive additional material to test your knowledge.

The second edition of this well-received book will offer both new insights into the intimate mechanisms of transition from hypertension to heart failure and clinical practice advice on the prevention and treatment of heart failure in hypertensive population. Heart failure is the result of the hypertension's effects on the heart and it is a growing public health problem, as it affects 20-50% of the adult population in developed countries. In this context the international scientific community is continuously struggling to develop better strategies in screening, diagnosing and treating hypertension and its deleterious effects. Thus, this field is continuously changing, with new important information being added constantly. A part of the book dedicated to diagnostics, comprising a chapter on new perspectives on multimodality imaging and a special chapter on diastolic dysfunction. The arrhythmic complications of hypertensive heart disease are discussed in two chapters on atrial fibrillation and ventricular arrhythmias respectively. Readers will also find new chapters regarding hypertension and heart failure in special populations such as cancer patients, young patients, pregnancy and patients with a history of SARS-CoV2 infection. This book is a useful tool for clinicians but also to the research community interested in heart failure and consequences of hypertension on heart who want to be up-to-date with the new developments in the field.

For the past 17 years, Pediatric Hypertension has served as the definitive reference text on hypertension in children and adolescents. Each edition has incorporated the latest research on the pathophysiology, clinical significance and management of hypertension in the young, and has incorporated the most current consensus guidelines on diagnosis and management. The years since publication of the fourth edition have seen further advances in the field that merit publication of an updated, expanded text, including: Analysis of the implications of updated hypertension guidelines on identification of youth at highest cardiovascular risk Additional data on the proximate effects of high blood pressure in children in adolescents Further understanding of the links between high blood pressure in youth and surrogate markers of adult cardiovascular disease The fifth edition is a readable, informative text that provides a comprehensive guide to the diagnosis, management and therapy of hypertension in children and adolescents, and presents new data that very clearly indicate that the origins of adult cardiovascular disease are rooted in pediatric hypertension. It will, as a result, be very important for therapeutic decisions and will also be highly relevant for those in internal medicine, who care for the millions of adults who have hypertension, cardiovascular disease and kidney disease. In this sense, the book fulfills the longstanding goal of showing that hypertension that begins in childhood is important to track, diagnose and treat, and that the present understanding of adult hypertension necessitates the study of blood pressure in youth. The fifth edition has a similar structural format to the prior editions and covers all aspects of pediatric hypertension, from basic science research to the most recent clinical information.

This book provides the latest research progress on Extracellular vesicles (EVs) in cardiovascular and metabolic diseases. EVs are small bilayer lipid membrane vesicles released by cells and function for intercellular communication. Increasing evidence has shown that EVs play crucial roles in cardiovascular and metabolic diseases, which seriously threaten human health worldwide. The book contains four sections: 1) Extraction Methods; 2) EVs in Cardiovascular Diseases; 3) EVs in Metabolic Diseases; and 4) Therapeutic Implications. This book is useful for biologists, cardiologists, cardiovascular surgeons, endocrinologists, internists, nurses, undergraduate and graduate students in medicine and cell biology, and others interested in cardiovascular and metabolic medicine.

This book provides an in-depth and up-to-date review of the association between blood pressure disorders and diabetes mellitus. In addition, it discusses the specific role of hemodynamic alterations on the vasculature of various target organs (the retina, kidney, brain, and gravid uterus), topics that are infrequently considered and or acknowledged by clinicians. Covering all aspects of the interaction between metabolic and hemodynamic factors, the book presents the diverse perspectives of the contributing authors and extensive discussions of issues including diabetic kidney disease, diabetic hypertensive phenotypes and postural hypotension.

The book systematically describes the clinical and scientific aspects of cardiovascular calcification. Chapters detail the mechanisms associated with arterial and valve calcification, relevant risk factors, pathophysiology and the latest therapeutic techniques. Recent diagnostic technological developments including how computed tomography (CT) scanning can be utilized along with Agatston score to quantify coronary arterial calcification when investigating whether a patient for sub-clinical atherosclerosis are covered. The correlation with the presence of arterial calcification and extent of coronary stenosis is also explored. Cardiovasular Calcification details relevant aspects of the basic science and reviews the latest pathological and therapeutic techniques used in treating patients with cardiovascular calcification. It is therefore an essential resource for practicing cardiologists, cardiac surgeons, vascular specialists and radiologists.

Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of morbidity and mortality in the United States and worldwide. It is well recognized that traditional risk factors for cardiovascular disease have limited predictive utility in the identification of new cardiovascular disease cases and outcomes. Thus, investigators have argued that application of a biopsychosocial research paradigm in this field may be of particular utility in understanding cardiovascular disease pathogenesis. Accordingly, a subdiscipline within the field of behavioral medicine – cardiovascular behavioral medicine – examines interrelations among biological, behavioral, psychological, social, and environmental factors in cardiovascular health and disease. In 1989, Schneiderman and colleagues published a seminal work entitled'Research Methods in Cardiovascular Behavioral Medicine.'Since that time, there has been an exponential increase in the amount and scope of work in this topic area, but no similar edited volume has been undertaken. The present handbook provides a compendium of work in the field of cardiovascular behavioral medicine, the purposes of which are to summarize research in this area, promote transdisciplinary research and clinical practice, and encourage researchers and clinicians to consider all relevant facets of the disease process in their evaluation and study of cardiovascular disease pathogenesis and outcomes. This handbook has four sections: Section I provides perspectives on the past, present, and future of cardiovascular behavioral medicine, an overview of basic cardiovascular anatomy and physiology, cardiovascular disease classification, and application of the biopsychosocial model to the study of cardiovascular disease. Section IIcovers risk factors for cardiovascular disease from a behavioral medicine perspective, including sociodemographic, behavioral, psychosocial, biomedical, psychophysiological, and environmental risk factors for cardiovascular disease.These chapters offer a discussion of construct definitions, measurement issues, and epidemiological evidence for relations to cardiovascular disease. Section III offers review of multi-level influences in specific cardiovascular disease entities, the evidence- base for relevant biopsychosocial interventions, evaluation of the impact of cardiovascular diseases on behavior, and consideration of common co-morbidities. Section IV covers select statistical and bioethical topics relevant to the field of cardiovascular behavioral medicine. This volume is unique in several respects. First, there is no similar work available in terms of the scope of topic coverage. Second, the inclusion of relevant measurement issues and construct definitions of a comprehensive set of risk factors will be of great assistance to researchers and clinicians in this area who wish to improve their assessment of these variables yet are not familiar with or trained in the various methodologies. Third, the use of multidisciplinary contributors enhances the utility of the work. Representative disciplines include psychology, psychiatry, medicine (e.g., cardiology), nursing, epidemiology, and public health. The primary audiences for this work are researchers, clinicians, and students in each of these disciplines.

This book summarizes the effects of obesity on health and its correlation with a wide range of debilitating and life-threatening conditions in humans. It discusses the possible pathological mechanisms that are involved in the development of obesity and highlights obesity-associated molecular mechanisms that contribute to reproductive dysfunctions in men and women. The book provides mechanistic insights on the role of obesity in cardiovascular and respiratory disorders, and examines the role of the complementary molecular mechanism of the gut microbiota in the development of obesity. It also reviews the interaction between the metabolic system and immune cells in the pathogenesis of obesity-associated diseases. Lastly, it assesses the latest advances in nanomedicine as an emerging strategy for the treatment of obesity.

This heavily revised second edition of this critical book details the structure, function and imaging of the normal right heart both at rest and under the stresses of high altitude and exercise. Extensively revised chapters cover the pathophysiology and pathobiology of right heart dysfunction, both in experimental models and human disease, including congenital heart disease and pulmonary hypertension.The Right Heart provides a concise up-to-date guide on the latest advances in our understanding of role of the right heart in the cardiopulmonary circuit and is an indispensable up-to-date resource for clinicians interested in this topic.

Obesity is an independent risk factor for cardiovascular disease (CVD) in adults as well as in obese children. This book will provide a description of the impact of obesity on the cardiovascular system and increased predisposition to CVD. It will identify the major biochemical mechanisms that lead to the occurrence of myocardial abnormalities and vascular alterations in obesity. We will also have some discussion on the biochemistry of the so-called obesity paradox in relation to CVD. The contributors to this book are international experts on obesity and associated cardiovascular complications. This book is also uniquely positioned as it focuses on the biochemistry of obesity-induced cardiovascular dysfunction. There are 20 chapters in 2 different parts in this book, comprising of Part A: Pathophysiology of Cardiovascular Complications in Obesity (11 chapters) and Part B: Modification of Cardiovascular Dysfunction in obesity (9 chapters). Theintent of this volume is to provide current and basic understanding of the biochemical mechanisms of obesity induced cardiovascular dysfunction that will be of value not only to cardiologists and other allied health professionals, but will also stimulate and motivate biomedical researchers and scientists to find the way to prevent the epidemic of obesity associated cardiovascular abnormalities. Furthermore, this book will serve as a highly useful resource for medical students, fellows, residents and graduate students with an interest in the cardiovascular system.In summary, this book covers a broad range of biochemical mechanisms of obesity-induced cardiovascular complications. We hope that the reader will understand that obesity is linked to an increase in the risk and occurrence of fatal CVD. Furthermore, the underlying message presented in the book is that the cause of obesity related disorders is complex and that understanding the biochemistry of cardiovascular dysfunction may contribute to the development of novel interventions for the prevention and treatment of obesity associated comorbidities.

This book provides a state-of-the-art description of the pathophysiology, diagnosis and management of valvular heart disease (VHD). With an aging population, the incidence and complexity of VHD has markedly increased and the introduction of transcatheter valve therapies have revolutionized the management of these frequent and serious cardiovascular diseases. The development of percutaneous valve interventions has revolutionized the management of VHD (or has dramatically changed its management) Heart Valve Disease: State of the Art is dedicated to provide up-to-date knowledge to clinical and interventional cardiologists, cardiovascular imagers and cardiac surgeons. It provides state-of-the-art information for the health-care professional working in heart valve clinics, heart teams, and centers of excellence that specialize in managing patients with heart valve disease.

This book reviews the assessment of human performance and the role of different exercise modes both in a laboratory and clinical setting. Details of how to successfully perform basic laboratory procedures for exercise training in health and disease, as well as how to apply non-invasive measurements in exercise physiology are provided. Chapters cover how to appropriately use a range of measures in assessing pulmonary function, anaerobic function and oxygen uptake. Techniques for cardiopulmonary rehabilitation and the mechanisms associated with thermoregulation are also described. Interactive exercises enable readers to easily assimilate key concepts and develop a thorough understanding of the topic. Basic Exercise Physiology provides both trainees and professional healthcare staff interested in exercise physiology with a detailed and practically applicable resource on the topic.

This book provides an in-depth review on various aspects of canine and feline hypertension. Physiology, pathophysiology, epidemiology and pathological consequences of high blood pressure in cats and dogs are discussed. A comparative approach is taken, the underpinning research is critically evaluated and knowledge gaps identified. In addition, the reader is presented with evidence-based treatment strategies. The book targets researchers, graduate students and clinical specialists in small animal internal medicine as well as veterinary clinicians with interest in nephrology, cardiology, neurology and ophthalmology.

This book presents the latest research on non-coding RNAs in cardiovascular disease, a major cause of death worldwide. Non-coding RNAs play a significant role in development, proliferation, differentiation and apoptosis. Since altered non-coding RNA expression is often associated with various diseases, their potential use in diagnostics, prognostics and therapeutics is an important current area of study. The book consists of six parts: 1) An overview of non-coding RNAs and cardiovascular system, 2) Bioinformatics and interactions, 3) Non-coding RNA regulation in cardiovascular system, 4) Non-coding RNAs and cardiovascular diseases, 5) Potential biomarkers and therapeutic implications, 6) Future prospects. It is particularly useful for researchers and students in the field of non-coding RNA and cardiovascular biology, as well as for cardiologists, pharmacologists and physiologists.

The second edition of this superbly illustrated book equips practitioners with all the information that they will require in order to perform echocardiography appropriately and to interpret findings correctly. After clear exposition of fundamentals of the examination technique via both the transthoracic and the transesophageal approach, the functional anatomy of all normal and pathologic thoracic structures as observed on echocardiography is presented in detail. A wide range of basic and advanced applications of echocardiography in the emergency, perioperative, and intensive care settings are then described. A final supplementary section considers further applications of ultrasound in the ICU, such as in patients with respiratory failure, trauma, or venous thrombosis. This edition has been extensively revised and updated and includes entirely new chapters on various techniques and applications. It will be a tremendous aid to current best practice for all intensivists, emergency physicians, and anesthesiologists who intend to use echocardiography and ultrasound for diagnosis and guidance of optimal management in the critically ill.

This book explains how hypertension affects 20-50% of the adult population in developed countries. Heart failure is the result of the hypertension's effects on the heart and it represents a growing public health problem. In this context the international scientific community is continuously struggling to develop better strategies in screening, diagnosing and treating hypertension and its deleterious effects. Thus, this field is continuously changing, with new important information being added constantly. This volume will offer both insights into the intimate mechanisms of transition from hypertension to heart failure and clinical practice advice on the prevention and treatment of heart failure in hypertensive population. The mechanisms which explain the progression from hypertension to heart failure will be also covered exhaustively by offering two chapters referring to the diagnosis of heart failure in hypertensive population and one regarding echocardiography which is the most frequently used imaging method in clinical practice. The reader will be also provided with information on cardiovascular magnetic resonance which has the unique advantage of differentiating hypertensive heart failure from other pathologies associated with increased myocardial thickness. This book is a useful tool for clinicians but also to the research community interested in heart failure and consequences of hypertension on heart who want to be up-to-date with the new developments in the field.

This thoroughly revised textbook provides a practically applicable guide to three-dimensional echocardiography (3DE). Background is provided on the evolution of the technology and physics that support the implementation of both transthoracic and transesophageal approaches to 3DE. The incremental value of 3DE to assess cardiac chambers is also described. Moreover, a range of cardiac valvular diseases including the mitral, aortic, and tricuspid valve have been portrayed and illustrated in depth.These include congenital abnormalities, regurgitation and stenosis. Emphasis is also placed on technical aspects of the technique and where it can provide added value, including post-surgery assessments and evaluation of cardiac masses.Textbook of Three-Dimensional Echocardiography enables readers to develop a deep understanding of how to use this imaging modality. It provides a valuable resource for the echocardiography trainee looking to develop their knowledge and for the experienced practitioner seeking a comprehensive up-to-date reference.

This book provides comprehensive information on transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI), which was introduced for the treatment of aortic valve disease less than two decades ago. It explains how TAVI has delivered satisfactory results even in high and intermediate risk patients and outlines how it continues to evolve, thus requiring awareness of state of the art approaches to indication, risk stratification, device choice, procedure, and follow-up. In addition, it reports on the complex and multidisciplinary approach needed to maximize the efficacy, safety, and appropriateness of TAVI, providing detailed clinical, interventional and surgical perspectives focusing on the development of this cardiovascular intervention. Starting with the history of TAVI, addressing the interventional anatomy of aortic valve disease, and reporting on the expert authors'day-to-day experiences, this highly informative book offers an essential update for all cardiologists and surgeons interested in transcatheter aortic valve implantation, as well as any clinician, decision-maker and stakeholder involved in patient selection, procedural management, and follow-up.

This book is a valuable tool to assist both cardiovascular physicians and scientists learning the intricacies of hypertension research and its milestone studies. All major hypertension trials have been reviewed in this book in chronological order with extensive discussion of the study population, study design, and outcomes and with a special focus on what knowledge they offered, their strengths and weaknesses, statistical errors, impact on international guidelines and unmet needs. Importantly, the book also offers physicians and young scientists with basic knowledge regarding medical biostatistics. It is of critical importance for a scientist involved in the field to understand deeply the process of analyzing medical data. Moreover, the accurate interpretation of the results is central for applying evidence-based medicine in everyday clinical practice. Management of Hypertension: Current Practice and the Application of Landmark Trials is a critical tool to assist in the education of physicians and researchers in the field, providing a separate section on pioneer researchers in hypertension and urging readers to become bright exemplars for scientists wishing to pursue a career in academic medicine and hypertension research.

This textbook offers an up-to-date, user-friendly guide on the evaluation, diagnosis and treatment of heart failure. Each chapter is dedicated to providing comprehensive coverage of every aspect of heart failure from cardiac signs and symptoms through imaging and the genetic basis for disease to surgery, interventions, treatment and preventative cardiology. Heart Failure provides the trainee and practising cardiologist, cardiac surgeon, vascular surgeon, diabetologist, cardiac radiologist and any physician who manages cardiac patients with a valuable resource featuring extensive guidance on the diagnosis and management of a range of conditions related to heart failure.

This book focuses on the practical issues of the implementation of state-of-the-art acquisition methodologies and protocols for both basic science and clinical practice. It is a practical guidebook for both beginners and advanced users for easy and practical implementation of acquisition protocols. It is relevant for a wide audience that ranges from students, residents, fellows, basic scientists, physicists, engineers, and medical practitioners.The novelty of this book relates to its intended practical use and focus on state-of-the-art cardiac MRI techniques that span both the clinical and basic science fields. In comparison and contrast to other pre-existing books, this book will distinguish from others for its practical usefulness and conciseness. Correspondingly, the book will be used as a handbook (quick reference) for new starters or people who would like to establish state-of-the-art cardiac MRI techniques in their institutions. Given the historical evolution of technique development in MRI, the clinical and basic science topics will be described separately. However, in instances where basic science development complemented (or is envisaged to complement) clinical development (e.g., Diffusion MRI and tractography), every effort will be made to allow a comprehensive review and associations of the clinical/basic science subfields.

In the context of the most significant influx of migrants in European history, the objective of this book is to provide healthcare professionals with essential knowledge and skills to effectively treat and prevent cardiovascular diseases in ethnic minorities. Acknowledging that the scientific and cultural training of health professionals on the specific health needs of minority groups is still limited and likely biased, the book sheds light on the different health policies in European countries as well as epidemiologic data on cardiovascular events among migrants. In addition, it presents an in-depth analysis of potential ethnic-group-specific drivers of global cardiovascular risk within this new and challenging framework – as well as issues related to its prevention and treatment.The prevalence of hypertension, diabetes, chronic kidney disease, obesity, and metabolic syndrome is found to be higher among most minority groups than in the native population, yet theiraccess to treatment and health services may be limited by cultural and language barriers. As health professionals are confronted with such intercultural challenges on a daily basis, specific training and dedicated publications are thus essential to accompany and foster a constructive development towards a pluralist and healthier society. This book addresses that need, offering a unique and revealing resource.

This book reviews all aspects of the diagnosis and management of heart disease in women, covering areas such as gender differences in metabolic syndrome, hypertension and atherogenesis. Gender differences in cardiovascular diseases are widespread, but while gender medicine takes into account the effects of sex and gender on the health of women and men, traditionally, women have been underrepresented in cardiovascular clinical trials, in management of different cardiac diseases and drug use. Gender Differences in the Pathogenesis and Management of Heart Disease deals with the gender-specific differences in cardiac physiology and diseases and brings into perspective the critical significance of gender in management of cardiovascular disease presentations and management. As such it is of enormous use to all clinical staff who manage women with cardiovascular disease.

This volume is a step-by-step educational echocardiography textbook from basic principles to advanced concepts. It is designed to rationalise and instruct readers on the rapid development in echocardiographic techniques, including real-time three-dimensional echocardiography, strain/strain rate imaging, and speckle tracking, which have greatly expanded the capabilities of cardiac imaging while overshadowing the importance of the basics of echocardiography.Case-Based Textbook of Echocardiography offers a comprehensive review of echocardiography from basic skills to advanced techniques, including practical information from recently published ASE/EACVI guidelines and explanatory movies and figures. Providing balance between the science and clinical pearls, it is of great interest for all trainee cardiologists and echocardiographers and helpful to all clinicians in cardiology, internal medicine, cardiac surgery, interventional cardiology and paediatric 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.

This updated textbook provides an essential evidence-based approach to echocardiography and includes practical case-based instruction illustrating a wide variety of clinical scenarios in which echocardiography is a vital diagnostic option for physicians. It reflects how echocardiography has evolved into a complex multimodality method for evaluating and quantifying cardiovascular lesions, and explains the use of hemodynamic assessment of the heart using echocardiography, transesophageal and three-dimensional echocardiography, deformation imaging and assessment of myocardial perfusion, which have added a new dimension to real-time noninvasive evaluation of patients. Echocardiography highlights the clinical utility of these evolving modalities that are now crucial to the renaissance of echocardiography, and it provides a thorough clinical review of this most revealing and adaptable methods of imaging a patient. The Editors and their world-class group of contributors have created an essential reference for those in training or who already use echocardiography in their practice.

Our own experience shows that there is no simple, yet of good scientific and clinical quality guide for practitioners and patients on gastrointestinal diseases. In the proposed book we will cover a vast area in the field, from GI tract physiology to disease diagnosis and treatment, in a comprehensive and approachable manner. The guide will not replace online resources (often used by patients) or specialized editions addressing experienced medical doctors, but rather fill the gap between those two. Our aim is to design this book so that it appeals to a wider audience; yet – if needed – encourages to explore the field further.

Hypertension: from basic research to clinical practice” contains a unique collection of selected chapters written by experts and enthusiasts engaged in research and treatment of hypertension, a condition that affects around a billion people in the world. The chapters describe fundamental researches at cellular and molecular levels to the science, and art of treatment of the condition in clinical practice. The topics included ranges from pathophysiology of hypertension, through monitoring of hypertension, to the treatment of hypertension in different patient categories. It contains essential background information as well as cutting edge research, and state of the art treatment alternatives in this broad field. From the beginners, and research students to the expert clinicians, and established scientists, everybody has something to learn from this book.

This book identifies the key determinants in the management of hypertensive outpatients with Cardiac Target Organ Damage. It sheds light on current international guidelines by directly applying them to six representative clinical cases that reflect situations frequently encountered during clinical routine rather than emergencies or rare occurrences. The book enables cardiologists and angiologists alike to gain an overview of the most frequent cardiac dysfunctions related to hypertension: left atrial enlargement, aortic root dilatation, diastolic dysfunction, systolic dysfunction, left and right ventricular enlargement. Each case is illustrated and analyzed in detail – from family and personal history to treatment and follow-up – providing readers with valuable guidance that will help them to select the best suited diagnostic tool and treatment for each patient.

This is the first textbook to focus on Aortopathy, a new clinical concept for a form of vasculopathy. The first section of the book starts from discussing general concept and history of Aortopathy, and then deals with its pathophysiology, manifestation, intrinsic factor, clinical implication, management and prevention. The second part closely looks at various disorders of the Aortopathy such as bicuspid aortic valve and coarctation of aorta. The book editors have published a lot of works on the topic and have been collecting relating data in the field of congenital heart disease for the past 20 years, thus present the book with confidence. The topic - an association of aortic pathophysiological abnormality, aortic dilation and aorto-left ventricular interaction - is getting more and more attention among cardiovascular physicians. This is the first book to refer for cardiologists, pediatric cardiologists, surgeons, ACHD specialists, etc. to acquire thorough knowledge on Aortopathy.

The book provides an intensive overview on exercise for cardiovascular disease prevention and treatment, from basic research to clinical practice. The volume firstly summarizes the acute and chronic response to exercise. Secondly, evidence for exercise as medicine for the heart based on clinical studies and basic research is summarized. Thirdly, molecular mechanisms mediating the beneficial effects of exercise including IGF-1-PI3K-AKT signalling, NO signalling, C/EBPB-Cited4 signalling, Non-coding RNAs, epigenetic regulators, mitochondria adaption and exosomes are presented. Finally, exercise dosing, prescription and future prospects are provided. This book will provide valuable reference for researchers in cell biology, physiology, as well as physician, physical therapist in cardiology, sport medicine, etc.

This book provides comprehensive analysis into individualized patient care, and applying evidence‐based medicine while integrating basic medical knowledge with applied medicine. The Editor and the contributors not only discuss important issues on hypertension management and its deleterious consequences if it is not well‐controlled, but also highlight the important signaling pathways involved in the pathogenesis of hypertensive heart disease and cardiac hypertrophy.

This book provides comprehensive insights into congenital heart disease from embryonic development through to clinical features, including human genetics and our current knowledge of the underlying molecular pathways. It is divided into three parts: an introduction to the development of the heart and its vessels, an overview of the molecular pathways affecting the development of various cardiovascular structures, and a main section focusing on the different types of structural and nonstructural congenital heart diseases, including their clinical features, underlying genetic alterations and related animal models and pathways. Taken together these chapters, which were written by and for clinicians and researchers, provide an integrated and cutting-edge resource for all those who want to learn more about both the clinical aspects and the genetic and molecular basis of congenital heart disease.

This book is intended to be a link between guidelines and clinical practice, a complementary tool to help physicians to be well informed regarding the important field of heart failure. It will be a useful tool for professionals from all the fields of cardiology: non-invasive cardiology, interventional cardiology, electrophysiology and cardiovascular imaging.The topic of heart failure is continuously changing, with new important information being added constantly. The pathophysiology is better understood and there is a trend for a better characterization of special groups of population, such as oncologic patients with heart failure. The new imaging techniques have become valuable tools for the diagnosis of heart failure, while pharmacological and novel cell and gene treatments have evolved enormously. The challenge for the practitioners is making the right selection of treatment strategy that best fits a patient. This book presents detailed information on the indications, selection and mechanism of action of these treatments, whether they be mechanical circulatory devices or pharmacological treatments. The contemporary pharmacological and non-pharmacological management of heart failure has the main target of early prevention of disease progression and the avoidance of heart transplant. In the era of shortage of donors, prevention is the mainstay of the therapeutic strategy, and this is the main philosophy of our book.

This new edition of Medical Management of Heart Failure will provide the full spectrum of medical options, ICU management and rehabilitation, while also prepare the reader for the second volume of Comprehensive Management of Heart Failure by introducing the surgical options in heart failure from transplant to the more noninvasive procedures in the interventional radiology department. The contributing authors are all key opinion leaders in the medical management of heart failure. This volume is designed to integrate with its sister surgery title, but also alone be the definitive guide to the medical management of heart failure.

​With the advent of less invasive treatments for aortic stenosis including percutaneous and apical replacement, more patients are being offered this technology. As such, determining the true severity of aortic stenosis is becoming paramount. Many clinical scenarios occur where the area and gradient estimates of severity do not match. This book will present case by case examples of different patients with a wide variety of aortic stenosis. It will assist cardiologists in identifying patients with true aortic stenosis who may benefit from valve replacement. It will also highlight the role and advent of new technology as the role of CTA, MRI, and 3D echo for diagnosis and TAVR and mini surgery for treatment​. The audience will range from clinical cardiologists, imaging cardiologists and interventionalists alike.

This book presents up-to-date information on how to assess early preclinical alterations in the heart, the small and large arteries and the kidney using the most sensitive, specific and cost-effective techniques. A wide variety of techniques are discussed, with careful attention to the latest developments. For each organ, evidence is documented regarding the prevalence of organ damage in the general and the hypertensive population. Information is provided on the potential induction of regression of organ damage by treatment, the criteria for establishing significant changes and the clinical prognostic significance of regression. The manual will be invaluable for all practitioners responsible for the clinical management of hypertensive patients, given that the assessment of early preclinical cardiovascular and renal damage permits more accurate risk stratification at baseline and facilitates evaluation of cardiovascular protection when regression of structural changes is achieved during treatment.

This book provides an introduction to the latest gene mapping techniques and their applications in biomedical research and evolutionary biology. It especially highlights the advances made in large-scale genomic sequencing. Results of studies that illustrate how the new approaches have improved our understanding of the genetic basis of complex phenotypes including multifactorial diseases (e.g., cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, and obesity), anatomic characteristics (e.g., the craniofacial complex), and neurological and behavioral phenotypes (e.g., human brain structure and nonhuman primate behavior) are presented.Topics covered include linkage and association methods, gene expression, copy number variation, next-generation sequencing, comparative genomics, population structure, and a discussion of the Human Genome Project. Further included are discussions of the use of statistical genetic and genetic epidemiologic techniques to decipher the genetic architectureof normal and disease-related complex phenotypes using data from both humans and non-human primates.

The book contains a series of core auscultation “lessons”. All are case based and describe auscultation as it relates to a patient and in terms of the gold standard for interpretation of heart sounds. Auscultation is the term for listening to the internal sounds of the body, usually using a stethoscope. It is performed for the purposes of examining the circulatory system and respiratory system (heart sounds and breath sounds). As a topic it is one of the oldest in cardiology but its utility should never be underestimated. In this era of hugely expensive imaging tests, auscultation is a cornerstone of efficient diagnosis and therefore needs a fresh look. The core content of this book describes the search for diagnostic clues within patients'heart sounds and as such this book provides superb practical advice in the form of a series of clinical pearls reflecting what accurate diagnosis with auscultation can mean to patient prognosis and outcome. This often subtle but ultimately simple subject often produces complex results and these must be considered in light of modern next-level diagnostic methods and patient management.

In cardiovascular prevention, there is classically a small number of cardiovascular risk factors to treat, such as hypertension, diabetes, hyperlipidemia and smoking excess, which are widely detected and treated. Recently, it has been widely recognized that new mechanical factors should be detected and treated and involves specifically pulsatile arterial hemodynamic (PAH) parameters such as: arterial stiffness, pulse pressure, and, to a lesser extent, augmentation index and pulse pressure amplification. The pedagogic aspect of this new CV specialty involves 3 principal parts: a. –Basic concepts and pathophysiological mechanisms of PAHb. –Clinical aspects and end-organ damage in PAHc. – Clinical pharmacology and therapeutics of PAH This book represents the first that spans basic science and clinical management of this new CV subspecialty. Much has been learned regarding the management of these patients in recent years and this book presents extensive data on the techniques needed to maximize outcomes.​

This book provides comprehensive reviews on our most recent understanding of the molecular and cellular mechanisms underlying atherosclerosis and calcific aortic valve disease (CAVD) as visualized in animal models and patients using optical molecular imaging, PET-CT, ultrasound and MRI. In addition to presenting up-to-date information on the multimodality imaging of specific pro-inflammatory or pro-calcification pathways in atherosclerosis and CAVD, the book addresses the intriguing issue of whether cardiovascular calcification is an inflammatory disease, as has been recently supported by several preclinical and clinical imaging studies. In order to familiarize researchers and clinicians from other specialties with the basic mechanisms involved, chapters on the fundamental pathobiology of atherosclerosis and CAVD are also included. The imaging chapters, written by some of the foremost investigators in the field, are so organized as to reveal the nature of the involved mechanisms as disease progresses.

Diabetes has long been recognized as a disease of high blood sugar, and there has been a continuous search of the exact reason for its development and effective treatment. In 2005, the World Health Organization had estimated that more than 180 million people worldwide suffer from diabetes mellitus and indicated that this figure is likely to double within the next 20 years. Among the 3.8 million deaths each year associated with diabetes, about two thirds are attributable to cardiovascular complications, and diabetes is now considered to be a major metabolic risk factor for the occurrence of heart disease.Diabetic Cardiomyopathy: Biochemical and Molecular Mechanisms is a compilation of review articles devoted to the study on the topic with respect to biochemical and molecular mechanisms of hyperglycaemia. The wide range of areas covered here is of interest to basic research scientists, clinicians and graduate students, who are devoted to study the pathogenesis of diabetes-induced cardiovascular dysfunction. Furthermore, some chapters are directed towards increasing our understanding of novel ways for the prevention/treatment of cardiomyopathy.Twenty five articles in this book are organized in three sections. The first section discusses general aspects of the metabolic derangements in diabetic cardiomyopathy including metabolic alterations and substrate utilization as well as cardiac remodelling in the heart; role of diet in the development of metabolic syndrome in the heart; effect of hyperglycaemia in terms of biochemical and structural alterations in heart. In the second section, several cellular and molecular mechanisms are discussed indicating that diabetic cardiomyopathy is a multifactorial and complex problem. The third section discusses the prevention and treatment of diabetes using appropriate diet, proper supplements including antioxidants, angiotensin inhibitors and some other drugs. All in all, this book discusses the diverse mechanisms of diabetic cardiomyopathy with some information on new therapeutic approaches for finding solutions to prevent or reverse the development of cardiac dysfunction.

The heart and lung are intricately linked. When the heart is affected by disease, the lungs will often show some related pathological or clinical conditions and vice versa. Pulmonary heart disease is by definition a condition when the lungs cause the heart to fail. The left ventricle in combination with the other structures in the “left heart” pumps blood throughout the body. The right ventricle (and structures of the “right heart”) pumps blood to the lungs where it is oxygenated and returned to the left heart for distribution. In normal circumstances, the right heart pumps blood into the lungs without any resistance. The lungs usually have minimal pressure and the right heart easily pumps blood through. However when there is lung disease present, like emphysema, chronic obstructive lung disease (COPD) or pulmonary hypertension- the small blood vessels become very stiff and rigid. The right ventricle is no longer able to push blood into the lungs and eventually fails. This is known as pulmonary heart disease. Pulmonary heart disease is also known as right heart failure or cor pulmonale. The chief cause of right heart failure is the increase in blood pressure in the lungs (pulmonary artery).