This book reviews the latest findings on epicardial coronary spasm and coronary microvascular dysfunction (CMD), important diseases for understanding coronary artery vasomotion abnormalities. The book chiefly consists of two major parts, each of which explores the epidemiology, pathophysiology, diagnosis and treatment of the diseases. The chapters present a range of experimental and clinical studies, including the editor’s life’s work on coronary spasm; how Rho-kinase activation plays an important role in connection with the disease; how chronic adventitial inflammation is a central pathophysiology of the spasm; the importance of Rho-kinase activation in the pathogenesis of CMD; how epicardial spasm and CMD frequently co-exist; and much more. Coronary Vasomotion Abnormalities will help practicing cardiologists, cardiac surgeons, vascular biologists and radiologists understand the latest issues concerning the clinical, interventional, and surgical management of these conditions, and offer these readers valuable insights into the effective treatment of microvascular angina.

In the past two decades a number of studies have shown that abnormalities in the function and structure of coronary microcirculation can be detected in several cardiovascular diseases. On the basis of the clinical setting in which it occurs, coronary microvascular dysfunction (CMD) can be classified into four types: CMD in the absence of any other cardiac disease; CMD in myocardial diseases; CMD in obstructive epicardial coronary artery disease; and iatrogenic CMD. In some instances CMD represents an epiphenomenon, whereas in others it represents an important marker of risk or may contribute to the pathogenesis of myocardial ischemia, thus becoming a possible therapeutic target. This book provides an update on coronary physiology and a systematic assessment of microvascular abnormalities in cardiovascular diseases, in the hope that it will assist clinicians in prevention, detection and management of CMD in their everyday activity.

Endothelium and Cardiovascular Diseases: Vascular Biology and Clinical Syndromes provides an in-depth examination of the role of endothelium and endothelial dysfunction in normal vascular function, and in a broad spectrum of clinical syndromes, from atherosclerosis, to cognitive disturbances and eclampsia. The endothelium is a major participant in the pathophysiology of diseases, such as atherosclerosis, diabetes and hypertension, and these entities are responsible for the largest part of cardiovascular mortality and morbidly. Over the last decade major new discoveries and concepts involving the endothelium have come to light. This important reference collects this data in an easy to reference resource. Written by known experts, and covering all aspects of endothelial function in health and disease, this reference represents an assembly of recent knowledge that is essential to both basic investigators and clinicians. - Provides a complete overview of endothelial function in health and diseases, along with an assessment of new information - Includes coverage of groundbreaking areas, including the artificial LDL particle, the development of a new anti-erectile dysfunction agent, a vaccine for atherosclerosis, coronary calcification associated with red wine, and the interplay of endoplasmic reticulum/oxidative stress - Explores the genetic features of endothelium and the interaction between basic knowledge and clinical syndromes

Research centering on blood flow in the heart continues to hold an important position, especially since a better understanding of the subject may help reduce the incidence of coronary arterial disease and heart attacks. This book summarizes recent advances in the field; it is the product of fruitful cooperation among international scientists who met in Japan in May, 1990 to discuss the regulation of coronary blood flow.

This latest edition of NUCLEAR CARDIOLOGY provides up-to-the-minute information on current and future uses of radionuclides in imaging diagnosis of the heart. Thoroughly revised and updated, it contains practical information on radiopharmaceuticals, tracer kinetics, instrumentation, ventricular function, perfusion, acute ischemic syndrome, viability, and metabolic images, as well as a discussion of the role of nuclear cardiology in a changing health care system. Practitioners in nuclear medicine, radiology, and cardiology will benefit from having current information on a wide range of topics in one focused reference. Provides highly detailed and comprehensive information in one convenient resource Includes more than 600 images and illustrations to aid comprehension Incorporates the knowledge of internationally recognized authors who are experts in the field Discusses a broad spectrum of nuclear cardiology applications to help you gain a better perspective on contemporary cardiac nuclear medicine

This book is a comprehensive and richly-illustrated guide to cardiac CT, its current state, applications, and future directions. While the first edition of this text focused on what was then a novel instrument looking for application, this edition comes at a time where a wealth of guideline-driven, robust, and beneficial clinical applications have evolved that are enabled by an enormous and ever growing field of technology. Accordingly, the focus of the text has shifted from a technology-centric to a more patient-centric appraisal. While the specifications and capabilities of the CT system itself remain front and center as the basis for diagnostic success, much of the benefit derived from cardiac CT today comes from avant-garde technologies enabling enhanced visualization, quantitative imaging, and functional assessment, along with exciting deep learning, and artificial intelligence applications. Cardiac CT is no longer a mere tool for non-invasive coronary artery stenosis detection in the chest pain diagnostic algorithms; cardiac CT has proven its value for uses as diverse as personalized cardiovascular risk stratification, prediction, and management, diagnosing lesion-specific ischemia, guiding minimally invasive structural heart disease therapy, and planning cardiovascular surgery, among many others. This second edition is an authoritative guide and reference for both novices and experts in the medical imaging sciences who have an interest in cardiac CT.

Cardiovascular Medicine: Coronary Artery Disease will offer today's most up-to-date, user-friendly guidance on the evaluation, diagnosis, and medical and surgical treatment of this most important aspect of cardiovascular disease and will be on the wish list for every trainee and practicising cardiologist, cardiac surgeon, vascular surgeon, diabetologist, cardiac radiologist and any physician who manages cardiac patients. The book is dedicated to providing comprehensive coverage of every aspect of coronary arterial medicine from cardiac signs and symptoms through imaging and the genetic basis for coronary disease to surgery, interventions, treatment and also to preventive cardiology. The Editor – and a group of contributing world authorities – offer their decades of scientific and clinical experience. A major selling point is the consistent chapter organization, clear design, and engaging text that includes user-friendly features such as tables, lists and treatment boxes. The reader will have all the guidance to diagnose and manage a full range of conditions in a series of textbook resources, while also having access to additional video material from the integral website.

This report considers the biological and behavioral mechanisms that may underlie the pathogenicity of tobacco smoke. Many Surgeon General's reports have considered research findings on mechanisms in assessing the biological plausibility of associations observed in epidemiologic studies. Mechanisms of disease are important because they may provide plausibility, which is one of the guideline criteria for assessing evidence on causation. This report specifically reviews the evidence on the potential mechanisms by which smoking causes diseases and considers whether a mechanism is likely to be operative in the production of human disease by tobacco smoke. This evidence is relevant to understanding how smoking causes disease, to identifying those who may be particularly susceptible, and to assessing the potential risks of tobacco products.

In the last decade there has been a growing interest in the study of the interactions between the heart and the brain, especially in the field of cerebral ischemia. The interactions between cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases are of relevance not only for research investigation, but also for clinical implications in the daily clinical practice. i.e. A wealth of information has been gathered particularly on three topics, cardiovascular consequences of cerebral injuries, cardioembolic stroke, and association of carotid and coronary artery disease. The available information, however, is still sparse and fragmentary mainly because of the lack of commun ication between neurologists and cardiologists. With the aim of improving communication between several disciplines and technologies, we started to organize since 1987 in Bologna, Italy, an international Symposium on heart brain interactions to be held every 3 years. Our intention was to gather prominent clinicians and researchers from outstanding cardiologic and neuro logic institutions actively involved in the study of heart-brain interactions. The ambitious goal has been to fit different pieces of information like in a puzzle. This book originates from the contributions presented at the 2nd Sympo sium which was held in Bologna on November 30-December 1, 1990. The book is subdivided into three sections: I cardiovascular consequences of cerebral damage, II cardiogenic cerebral ischemia, III cerebrovascular and coronary artery disease.

Nuclear cardiology is no longer a medical discipline residing solely in nuclear medicine. This is the first book to recognize this fact by integrating in-depth information from both the clinical cardiology and nuclear cardiology literature, and acknowledging cardiovascular medicine as the fundamental knowledge base needed for the practice of nuclear cardiology. The book is designed to increase the practitioner's knowledge of cardiovascular medicine, thereby enhancing the quality of interpretations through improved accuracy and clinical relevance.The text is divided into four sections covering all major topics in cardiology and nuclear cardiology: Basic Sciences and Cardiovascular Diseases Conventional Diagnostic Modalities Nuclear Cardiology Management of Cardiovascular Diseases