Disease of the heart valves is increasingly common
and frequently requires treatment, usually a combination
of drug therapy and surgery to repair or replace the
valve. The majority of valvular heart disease occurs in
older people, and is due to degenerative disease of the
valve tissue. Understanding how to diagnose, investigate
and manage patients with valvular heart disease is a
core skill for a wide range of doctors, including
cardiologists, cardiac surgeons, general physicians,
general surgeons and anaesthetists. Valvular heart
disease can also occur in younger patients and can be
particularly challenging to diagnose and treat in
pregnant women. New advances in cardiology mean a range
of valvular heart disease can be treated with
percutaneous procedures avoiding the need for full
cardiac surgery.
This unique text covers all
aspects of valvular heart disease, including normal
valve anatomy and physiology, pathophysiology, modes of
investigation, assessment and treatment of specific
valve lesions, valve surgery (both medical and surgical
aspects), treatment in pregnancy or during non-cardiac
surgery, and the devastating complication of infective
endocarditis, in an easy-to-read, accessible format. It
contains over 150 high quality pictures and
illustrations, providing contemporary diagnostic imaging
(including conventional radiography, echocardiography
and magnetic resonance imaging) to demonstrate the
importance of imaging in diagnosis and treatment.
Individual valve lesions are reviewed in turn with
specific indications for intervention in line with
current European guidelines. The handbook complements
the curriculum for specialist training in the UK, and is
relevant to candidtaes in preparation for accreditation
with the British Society of Echocardiography.
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