Current Diagnosis & Treatment: Cardiology is a concise discussion of the knowledge needed to diagnose and manage most cardiovascular diseases. It is designed for trainees to review the essentials of specific conditions and to check the suggested literature included in each section. The experienced clinician will find it a source for quick reference. It is an excellent review for Board examinations. Nurses, technicians, and other health care professionals who help manage cardiology patients will find it a valuable resource for all aspects of cardiovascular disease care.
The 37 chapters in Current Diagnosis & Treatment: Cardiology cover the major disease entities and therapeutic challenges in cardiology. Also, there are chapters on major management issues such as pregnancy and heart disease, the use of anticoagulants in heart disease, and the perioperative evaluation of heart disease patients. Each section is written by experts in the particular area, but it has been extensively edited to ensure a consistent approach throughout the book and the kind of readability found in single-author texts. It is organized into six sections: Prevention of Cardiovascular Disease, Ischemic Heart Disease, Arrhythmias, Valvular Disease, Cardiomyopathy & Heart Failure, and Systemic Diseases & the Heart. Since the fifth edition, new content has been added to every chapter. Certain new content themes permeate multiple chapters such as the increased use of cardiac MRI, CT, PET, and radionuclide imaging in valve, myocardial, pericardial, and ischemic heart disease; the increased application of genetic information in cardiomyopathies, adult congenital heart disease, aortic disease, primary pulmonary arterial hypertension, and valvular heart disease: and new biologic drugs for dyslipidemia, recurrent pericarditis, and cardiac disease associated with connective tissue diseases. Also, recent pharmacologic treatment trial results of several agents used to treat the growing problem of heart failure with preserved left ventricular ejection fraction are detailed. In addition, there is new content on COVID-19 myocarditis and new antineoplastic drugs toxic to the heart such as immune checkpoint inhibitors. Finally, the issue of return to play recommendations for athletes who contract COVID-19 is discussed.
My hope is that the book is found to be useful and improves patient care. Also, I hope it is an educational tool that increases the reader’s knowledge and understanding of cardiovascular disease. Finally, I hope it stimulates clinical research in areas where our knowledge is incomplete.