Clinical Manual of Total Cardiovascular Risk / Edition 1

by Neil R. Poulter

Overview

Over the last 10–20 years, there has been an increasing appreciation of the need to manage individual risk factors for cardiovascular disease (CVD) in the context of overall cv risk rather than on the basis of the absolute level of any given risk factor. This approach has given rise to the misnomer “global risk” and gen- ated extensive “lip-service” around this more broad-minded approach to managing risk factors and the prevention of CVD. This short book was devised with the idea of providing a practical summary of the rationale for management based on estimated total CV risk and the various methods associated with so-doing. Practical issues are addressed including treatment thresholds and targets for the major risk factors on which we routinely intervene, and a brief descr- tion of the major means of these interventions is provided. Whilst a multifactorial approach to CV prevention is logical and reflects the pathophysiological processes which underpin the formation of athe- sclerosis, the evidence base to guide practice using estimated CV risk (“global risk”) as a threshold for intervention is essentially non-existent. Meanwhile, pending supportive evidence from randomized trials, prac- cal, pragmatic, and cost-effective approaches to preventing CVD, which is the current biggest contributor to global mortality and burden of disease, is urgently required. The hope is that this book may make a small contribution toward reducing the horrendous burden which CVD currently imposes on the world.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781848002524
Publisher:	Springer London
Publication date:	12/16/2008
Edition description:	2009
Pages:	88
Product dimensions:	4.80(w) x 7.80(h) x 0.40(d)

About the Author

Professor Neil Poulter is Professor of Preventative Cardiovascular Medicine and co-Director of the International Center for Circulatory Health, Imperial College London, UK. He is a co-author of the 2003 European Society of Hypertension-European Society of Cardiology guidelines for the management of arterial hyptertension among other papers and guidelines documents.

Table of Contents

Principles of Total Risk Management.- Identifying the patient at risk.- Strategies for cardiovascular risk management.- Current treatment targets.- The doctor–patient relationship.- Cardiovascular disease prevention: prospects for the future?.

Editorial Reviews

Reviewer: Vincent F Carr, DO, MSA, FACC, FACP (Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences)
Description: This deceptively thin book is a to-the-point summary of everything one must understand about cardiovascular risk. The author blends the British and American literature in a well done, easy to read book for every practitioner who treats patients with cardiovascular disease.
Purpose: As the title concisely suggests, the book presents what must be understood by those working with cardiovascular patients, are engaged in cardiovascular research, or wish to understand the state-of-the-art in cardiovascular risk. The author has a single premise, to help reduce the burden of cardiovascular disease through understanding the pathophysiological processes of atherosclerosis.
Audience: This is an extraordinary book that primary care practitioners can easily use to modify the cardiovascular risks of their patients, written by one of the foremost British authorities on cardiovascular pathology.
Features: The book begins with an explanation of total risk and quickly moves into the seminal studies that have defined medical understanding of the cardiovascular disease processes, identifying the patients who are at risk and the targets that must be attained in order to modify those risks. One absolutely essential aspect is the comprehensive approach to taking the critical points from each of the major studies and showing how these interact and support each other over the previous 20-plus years of research. The references are complete and current.
Assessment: This small book is a must for every practitioner who treats cardiovascular disease patients.

Doody's Review Service

From the reviews:

"This … book is a to-the-point summary of everything one must understand about cardiovascular risk. … This is an extraordinary book that primary care practitioners can easily use to modify the cardiovascular risks of their patients … . The references are complete and current. This small book is a must for every practitioner who treats cardiovascular disease patients." (Vincent F Carr, Doody’s Review Service, March, 2009)

From the Publisher