For the general cardiologist a compact and up-to-date indications list for CMR exams with illustrative examples is provided covering the entire field of cardiology with 16 chapters. For the CMR expert updated state-of-the-art CMR protocols are given.

The past 10 years have seen a remarkable change in the approach to cardiac arrhythmias, from a position of confidence and a feeling of well-being about pharmacological treatment to a situation in which there is now marked uncertainty and general apprehension about the role of antiarrhythmic drugs. Until relatively recently the prevailing concept in antiarrhythmic therapy was that arrhythmias could be controlled by drugs which slowed conduction or suppressed automaticity, goals well served ...

The development of the cardiovascular system is a rapidly advancing area in biomedical research, now coupled with the burgeoning field of cardiac regenerative medicine. A lucid understanding of these fields is paramount to reducing human cardiovascular diseases of both fetal and adult origin. Significant progress can now be made through a comprehensive investigation of embryonic development and its genetic control circuitry. Heart Development and Regeneration, written by experts in the fie...

This special issue of the Handbook of Experimental Pharmacology on Heart Failure covers the entire spectrum of the field, from the current understanding and definitions of heart failure, to epidemiology and the importance of co-morbidities, clinical trial design and biomarkers, as well as imaging technologies. The main focus of this book is to review current and emerging heart failure therapies and potential targets for treatment.

Respiratory rehabilitation can be defined as long term evaluation and therapy. This definition has evolved considerably from earlier and more restrictive attempts to delineate the discipline. Currently, respiratory rehabilitation involves evaluation techniques and treatment strategies which utilize the benefits gained from exercises, but without being limited to it. Respiratory muscle training, non-invasive mechanical ventilation, bronchodilator drugs, and metabolic balance and maintenance...

Ischemic brain damage represents a major source of morbidity and mortality in westernized society and poses a significant financial burden on the health care system. To date, few effective therapies have been realized. Recent evidence, however, suggests that channels, pumps, and ionic exchangers are involved in CNS ischemia and ischemic stroke, but the potential contribution of these channels for curing stroke is far less understood than for many other normal and pathological conditions. N...

The spectrum of cardiovascular disease affecting women in pregnancy and postpartum is changing and differs between countries. In the western world, the risk of cardiovascular disease in pregnancy has increased due to the increasing age at the first pregnancy and the worldwide obesity epidemic leading also to early diabetes and hypertension. In addition the treatment of congenital heart disease has improved leading to an increased number of women with residual heart disease reaching childbe...

ACE inhibitors are one of the most exciting and interesting of recent medical developments. They fit the patho-physiologica1 processes of cardiovascular disease with fascinating precision and are a constant stimulus to the acquisition of greater understanding of the mechanisms involved and of the mode of action of the drugs themselves. There is still much to be learned, especially about the wider effects of the drugs, their precise mode and site of action and about differences between the ...

Translational Research in Coronary Artery Disease: Pathophysiology to Treatment covers the entire spectrum of basic science, genetics, drug treatment, and interventions for coronary artery disease. With an emphasis on vascular biology, this reference fully explains the fundamental aspects of coronary artery disease pathophysiology. Included are important topics, including endothelial function, endothelial injury, and endothelial repair in various disease states, vascular smooth muscle func...

The paradigm for atrial fibrillation (AF) management has changed significantly in recent years. A new era has begun for the prevention of one of the most tremendous complication of AF, stroke. Prevention of ischemic stroke in AF patients with oral anticoagulants represents a huge challenge because of the narrow therapeutic change of these drugs, interindividual and intraindividual variability, and the unsatisfactory time in therapeutically range (TTR) with this type of medication.N...

Vitamin C, or ascorbic acid, has a long and multifaceted scientific history. In 1937, the Nobel Prize for Physiology and Medicine was awarded to Albert Szent-Gyorgyi'in recognition of his discoveries concerning the biological oxida tion processes with special reference to vitamin C', and the Nobel Prize for Chemistry was shared by Sir Norman W. Haworth, who was the first to synthesize the vitamin. Vitamin C is a potent antioxidant, and this action represented the theoretical basis for vari...