An easy-to-read survey of all the latest developments in molecular cardiologic research and therapy. The authors explain in a readable style the complex process of the heart's development, the molecular basis of cardiovascular diseases, and the translation of these research advances to actual clinical treatments. The expert information provided here serves as an invaluable building block for novel treatments of cardiovascular diseases and includes a comprehensive discussion of cardiac function and dysfunction, coronary artery disease, cardiac arrhythmias, vascular diseases, and risk factors for cardiovascular disease. These state-of-the-art approaches to molecular cardiologic research include critical discussion of such topics as the molecular events that regulate angiogenesis and the potential for angiogenic therapy, emerging therapies for arrhythmias, and a description of the molecular biology of aging and its impact on the cardiovascular system.

The aim of Molecular Cardiology: Methods and Protocols is to document state-of-the-art molecular and genetic techniques in the area of cardiology. These modern approaches enable researchers to readily study heart diseases at the molecular level and will promote the development of new therapeutic str- egies. Methods for genetic dissection, signal transduction, and microarray analysis are excellent tools for the study of the molecular mechanisms of cardiovascular diseases. Protocols for transgenesis take advantage of recent advances in many areas of molecular and cell biology. Transgenic models of heart diseases (cardiac hypertrophy, cardiac dysfunction, and so on. ) are powerful tools for the study of heart disease pathogenesis. Methods for gene transfer to heart tissue using viral and nonviral vectors form the basis of gene therapy for heart diseases. Heart-specific promoters containing a hypox- inducible cardioprotective gene switch are key for protection of the heart from ischemia. Gene and stem cell therapies open novel and exciting avenues for the prevention and treatment of heart diseases. Molecular Cardiology: Methods and Protocols consists of 26 chapters de- ing with various aspects of molecular cardiology, including gene transfer and gene therapy for cardiovascular disease, stem cell therapy for cardiovascular disease, gene analysis in the injured and hypertrophied heart, and transgenesis in cardiovascular research. This book provides step-by-step methods for the successful completion of experimental procedures, and would be useful for both experienced and new investigators in the field of molecular cardiology.

Cardiology is an area of great recent triumphs in pharmacological and surgical treatment, yet cardiovascular disease remains the leading cause of death and disability in the industrialized world. Coronary disease, heart failure, stroke and sudden arrhythmic cardiac death challenge both medical practitioners and scientists. With the dawning of the new `molecular' era, there is an awakened hope that a more fundamental understanding of biologic processes may eventually lead to new progress in the prevention and treatment of these persistent and seemingly intransigent problems. Molecular Cardiology in Clinical Practice brings together an outstanding panel of experts in cardiovascular disease who have been at the forefront of the application of molecular medicine to cardiology. Its intent is to help bridge the gap between modern medical practice and modern science, in the belief that an understanding of basic principles can lead to new insight into the problems of cardiac patients.

Molecular Cardiology for the Cardiologist, Second Edition provides a short, easily readable summary of what the new biology brings to cardiology. Special efforts have been made to include comprehensive diagrams and drawings, as well as teaching tables, and also to keep the size of the second edition within the modest limits of the first edition. The book remains divided into 5 parts. The first part is a general introduction to the new terminology. The second part is devoted to the normal structure of the heart and vessels. Parts 3 and 4 deal with physiopathology. One of the important contributions of molecular biology to cardiology is a better understanding of the general process of adaptation of the heart and vessels to a permanent mechanical overloading. Such a process is generally called remodeling, and results from coordinate changes in the expression of the genes. The last part of the book includes information on gene and cellular therapy.

It has been our experience that instruction in physical examination of the heart in medical schools has been deteriorating since the advent of such modern diagnostic tools as two-dimensional echocardiography and nuclear imaging. At best, the teaching has been sketchy and too superficial for the student to appreciate the pathophysiological correlates. Both invasive and the noninvasive modern technologies have contributed substantially to our knowledge and understanding of cardiac physical signs and their pathophysiological correlates. However, both students and teachers alike appear to be mesmerized by technological advances to the neglect of the age-old art, as well as the substantial body of science, of cardiac physical examination. It is also sad to see reputed journals give low priority to articles related to the clinical examination. Our experience is substantiated by a nationwide survey of internal medicine and cardiology training programs, which concluded that the teaching and practice of cardiac auscultation received low emphasis, and perhaps other bedside diagnostic skills as well (1). The state of the problem is well reflected in the concerns expressed in previous publications (2–4), including the 2001 editorial in the American Journal of Medicine (Vol. 110, pp. 233–235), entitled “Cardiac auscultation and teaching rounds: how can cardiac auscultation be resuscitated?”, as well as in the rebuttal, “Selections from current literature. Horton hears a Who but no murmurs—does it matter?” (5).