Book Review

Textbook of Interventional Cardiovascular Pharmacology

N Engl J Med 2008; 358:757-758February 14, 2008

Article

Textbook of Interventional Cardiovascular Pharmacology
Edited by Nicholas N. Kipshidze, Jawed Fareed, Jeffrey W. Moses, and Patrick W. Serruys. 646 pp., illustrated. London, Informa Healthcare, 2007. $370. ISBN: 978-1-84184-438-1

The editors of the Textbook of Interventional Cardiovascular Pharmacology recruited more than 100 contributors from 17 countries to write 52 chapters. The authors of these chapters are internationally known authorities in the areas of their contributions, and their chapters present much of their own original work. This excellent textbook is up to date and also gives a glimpse of future pharmacologic agents and interventional techniques.

The book's chapters are organized into five sections. Part 1 includes 20 chapters and discusses mostly systemic therapy. The first chapter focuses on the mechanisms of hemostasis and thrombosis, and the remaining chapters deal with antithrombotic, antiplatelet, and fibrinolytic pharmacologic agents. One chapter is devoted to the hot topic of resistance to antiplatelet therapy; two chapters are devoted to the systemic use of antirestenotic drugs and the role of antineoplastic agents in the treatment of restenosis. The 13 chapters in part 2 cover therapies that can be applied directly to stenotic lesions. There are several chapters on drug-eluting stents, as well as discussions of new agents and techniques that may be applied to clinical practice in the near future — including growth factors, photodynamic approaches, gene therapy, and new antiproliferative, antimigratory, and angiogenetic drugs.

Part 3 of the book contains four chapters, which cover cell-based therapy for myocardial regeneration and therapeutic angiogenesis. Part 4 includes 10 chapters, which discuss adjunctive pharmacologic therapy in patients with heart failure, diabetes mellitus, atrial fibrillation, peripheral artery disease, acute coronary syndromes, erectile dysfunction, chronic total coronary artery occlusion, contrast-induced nephropathy, and other conditions. A chapter related to renal insufficiency and renal failure perhaps would be a good addition to the next edition of this book, since atherosclerosis and renal diseases often coexist, and renal insufficiency is an important determinant of prognosis in patients with coronary artery disease.

The five chapters in part 5 discuss carotid artery stenting, peripheral vascular interventions, repair of abdominal aortic aneurysm, closure of atrial septal defect and patent foramen ovale, alcohol septal ablation in hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, and interventions for valvular heart disease. The epilogue offers an opinion on drug development in cardiovascular interventional medicine and includes a table comparing the pharmacokinetics of the various cardiovascular pharmacologic agents. Information about pharmacokinetics in relation to renal fraction might be a good addition to the next edition of the book.

The separation between the five major parts of the book is clear in the table of contents, but it is not as well defined within the text. The book covers a wide area related to cardiovascular interventional pharmacology and provides information about ongoing developments in the field. The authors discuss recent advances and practical information for clinicians, and the text nicely bridges mechanisms of pathogenesis as they relate to clinical presentation and management, thus providing a basis for a translational approach to clinical problems. In addition, the book is well illustrated and thoroughly referenced.

The knowledge conveyed in this book will be useful to anyone working in the field of cardiovascular medicine, especially interventional cardiovascular medicine. It will also be useful to those who are involved in the development of new pharmacologic agents. Clinicians, basic scientists, clinical researchers, physicians involved with translational research, and trainees in cardiovascular medicine will benefit from the in-depth knowledge that this book provides.

Harisios Boudoulas, M.D., Ph.D.
Biomedical Research Foundation of the Academy of Athens, 11527 Athens, Greece
boudoulas@bioacademy.gr