Cardiovascular Pharmacology and Therapeutics [antikvár]

PREFACE Drug therapy of cardiovascular disorders has experienced enormous expansion over the last several decades. Advances have occurred over the entire range of the discipline—from molecular pharmacology, with implications for gene therapy, to bedside treatment where clinical trials continue to define the roles of newer classes of compounds and redefine those of established therapeutic regimens. Clearly, cardiovascular pharmacology has become too extensive a subject to be adequately covered in regular texts on pharmacology and cardiovascular medicine. Cardiovascular Pharmacology and Therapeutics has been created to reflect the growth and expansion of knowledge of drug treatment of heart disease. Its objective is to provide the rational basis for the use of cardiovascular drugs. The first part of the book deals with the fundamental mechanisms of drug action, principles of pharmacokinetics, rudiments of clinical trials, and prospects for gene therapy of cardiovascular disease. The issue of controlled clinical trials has become a crucial one, and the endpoints of therapy now encompass changes in mortality as well as morbidity and quality of life. Pertinent data from relevant trials have been given special emphasis throughout the volume, as they provide the framework for rational therapeutic decision making. Cardiovascular drugs are being used increasingly in multiple disorders, and therefore the general pharmacologic aspects of various classes of therapeutic agents are covered separately. Deliberately, the emphasis is placed on classes of therapeutic agents rather than on individual compounds. The chapters on the pharmacology of various classes of drugs, both currently in use and those in development, provide the background for a critical discussion of the treatment of various cardiovascular disorders. For the most part, these sections are organized according to major disorders in terms of pathophysiology. Each is preceded by an overview including pathophysiologic considerations necessary for the integration of pharmacologic data into clinical practice. Several chapters deal with areas of special interest and needs relevant to age and race. Discrete coverage of these areas was felt necessary, as cardiovascular effects of drugs vary in these populations of patients. As might be expected in a multiauthor text, there are areas of overlap as well as divergence of approach and opinion. This is inevitable when the contributors are authorities, with varying opinions, in a field in which the scientific basis for therapy is constantly changing. While the book is designed primarily for cardiologists, internists, and trainees in these disciplines, it will appeal also to practitioners of family medicine, as a great deal of cardiovascular medicine falls within their scope. The purely pharmacologic aspects of the subject are likely to appeal to pharmacologists and research scientists involved in drug development. The emphasis, nevertheless, remains on clinical therapeutics integrated with the scientific foundations of pharmacology and pathophysiology. We believe the book provides the background for the development of rational therapeutic regimens designed to alleviate symptoms and improve quality and quantity of life. Bramah N. Singh, M.D., D.Phil, F.R.CP. Victor J. Dzau, M.D. PaulM. Vanhoutte, M.D., Ph.D. Raymond L. Woosley, M.D,, Ph.D. xüi