Cardiovascular Actions of Anesthetics and Drugs Used in Anesthesia I. [antikvár]

PrefaceDuring the past decade, new and important information on the effects and influence of anesthetics on the cardiovascular systems of normal and diseased subjects have been brought forth. Although several reviews on certain aspects of this subject have appeared during the past five years, no single monograph or text is available for the anesthesiologist, critical care specialist, clinician, research scientist or serious student. This information is particularly important in view of the central role anesthesia plays in surgery, critical care medicine and advancement of biomedical research. In addition, since cardiovascular problems (and diseases) are so widespread, it is important that recent knowledge on the effects of anesthetics and drugs used in anesthesia on the former be gathered and presented in a series of treatises in order to result in their dissemination to as large a biomedical readership as possible.In thinking about the information to be presented, we have attempted to select subject areas which are important and timely. Obviously, this has also reflected some of our prejudices. In some cases, space limitation precluded the inclusion of certain subjects in these treatises.The nature of the desired subject matter and its presentation often challenged the contributors as well as the editors. We have been fortunate in being able to gather so many active experts and outstanding physician-scientists to contribute to these volumes.The contributors of these volumes have attempted to (a) critically evaluate work done in the past, (b) present the present state of the art, and (c) point out future directions which seem profitable and challenging. It is our hope that these volumes have brought the material discussed up to date and have reviewed areas hitherto neglected.B.M. Altura S. Halevy