Clinical Cardiology in the Elderly [antikvár]

Preface There is no dearth of textbooks dealing with the many facets of cardiology. Why yet another? Most cardiologists, including the contributors to this book, are not geriatricians, but because of demographic changes in western countries, they treat more and more elderly patients. Our earlier experience in adult and even pediatric cardiology permitted quick, accurate bedside diagnosis and appropriate, often curative treatment. In the elderly, however, valued tools such as cardiac auscultation and electrocardiography are improved by more precise noninvasive techniques such as echocardiography. Treatment is also more complicated because decisions have to be carefully weighed against a background of multiple chronic diseases and the expectations of patients and their families about duration and quality of life. The goal in compiling this book has not been to encapsulate information about geriatric cardiology that might be found in various sections of well-known textbooks. The contributors are qualified to provide perspective into problems as diverse as cardiac defibrillators, cardiopulmonary resuscitation, clinical trials, the doctrine of informed consent, and euthanasia. Hopefully, their knowledge will help us better manage elderly patients in an era when expenditures on health care costs are at the forefront of political and ethical thinking. Elliot Chesler, M.D.