Clinical Cardiovascular Physiology [antikvár]

Preface With each new decade, the challenge of taking inventory in a broad medical field has become more difficult. Not only are we faced with a geometric increase in our data base, but the vulnerable truths of yesterday are being dispelled with increasing frequency. The subject matter which is appropriate for a text on clinical cardiovascular physiology is vast and, by necessity, many relevant aspects have been omitted in this book. Whole chapters could easily have been devoted to electrocardiography, cardiac echography, angiography, radionuclide imaging, and non-invasive technics. However, it was considered wise to avoid detailed review of these rapidly developing technical procedures and rather to present our current understanding of the pathophysiology of diseases of the heart and circulation, in their clinical setting when possible. In order to provide a basic understanding of the fundamental control systems of the heart and circulation, separate chapters are devoted to reviews such as cardiac muscle physiology, control of cardiac output, the venous system, and myocardial metabolism. While major emphasis has not been placed on the treatment of cardiovascular disorders, the preeminent role of digitalis glycosides, antiarrhythmic agents, modification of the adrenergic nervous system, and electrical therapy of arrhythmias are each discussed separately. Although portions of the text are quite detailed, it is hoped that the book will be found useful not only for cardiologists and cardiologists-in-training, but for medical students during their course in cardiovascular disease and for internists with a special interest in cardiology. I am grateful to Dr. J. Willis Hurst and Dr. Dean T. Mason for inviting me to participate as an editor in their Clinical Cardiology Monographs series. Special thanks are also due to Grune & Stratton, Inc. and to the capable assistance of my secretary, Miss Sandra Bryan.