Reviewer: Jonathan Rzonzew, MD Candidate(Universidad San Francisco de Quito)
Description: This book addresses the epidemiology, mechanisms, and treatment underlying hypertension and heart failure, two of the most common ailments in the cardiac medical field. The authors and editors are experts in the field and practiced clinicians.
Purpose: The purpose of this book is to provide informative updates on heart failure and hypertension, focusing particularly on its underlying mechanisms, epidemiology, and treatment strategies. Additionally, it provides new perspectives on diagnosis and complications that may arise secondary to these ailments. The objective of the book is to provide an integral understanding of the fundamentals of heart failure and hypertension, highlighting their prevalence and present impact, its proposed pathological mechanisms, and strategies used to limit their progression.
Audience: The primary audience of this book includes all healthcare workers involved with hypertension and heart failure in their practice. This is covers physicians of all levels, registered nurses, specialists, as well as students, residents, fellows, and any person interested in these diseases.
Features: The book includes six parts, subdivided into chapters. Part I covers epidemiology of hypertension and hypertensive heart disease. Part II reviews the underlying mechanisms of heart failure in arterial hypertension, covering hemodynamic changes, structural cardiovascular remodeling, and extra-cardiac involvement as well as a mention of SARS-CoV-2 involvement. Part III offers new perspectives on diagnosis of heart failure in hypertensive patients focusing on the latest imaging studies as well as sensitive cardiac biomarkers and peptides that aid the diagnosis and estimate the progression. Part IV mentions arrhythmic complications of hypertensive heart disease, namely atrial fibrillation and ventricular arrhythmias. Part V dives into the treatment of heart failure in hypertensive patients, reviewing everything from novel guided medical therapies and non-pharmacological strategies to device-based treatment and strategies in patients with unsatisfactory response. Part VI covers special populations, such as young adults, pregnancy, cancer, and pre-heart failure patients.
Assessment: The book is of high quality, written in an authoritative fashion and providing in depth, detailed, integrating reviews of the subjects. The pathophysiological explanations are excellent and describe the diseases in integral ways, while also providing clear association and correlations between both diseases, and their systemic manifestations. Diagnosis and treatment are well described with the latest advances and solid advice on the application of current strategies. These sections could include algorithmic representations, but since the book serves as an informative source and not a guideline it does not pursue that purpose. The length and distribution of the text is appropriate and very reader-friendly, with a layout that provides effortless follow-through and concise paragraphs that allow for rapid overview of subjects, while still providing exceptional detail. Illustrations, graphs, tables, and printed images are provided throughout the book where appropriate, facilitating the condensation of large amounts of information into easily interpreted visual aids. However, the print quality of some of the graphs and illustrations could be improved. The visual appearance of the book is appealing. Being a second edition, the update is necessary and meets the objectives of providing up to date informative reviews on heart failure and hypertension.