When I was asked some years ago by the editors of the Handbook of Experimental Pharmacology to edit a new volume on Antianginal Drugs, I agreed on the condition that, in accordance with my scientific background, primary emphasis be given to clinical pharmacology and therapeutics. It soon turned out that, due to rapid developments in this field, nothing of the previous volume on Antianginal Drugs by Charlier (Vol. 31, 1971) could be retained apart from its basic idea of devoting considerable space to methodology. Since editors must operate within certain limits, I had to abstain from dealing with acute myocardial infarction in detail despite the well-known overlap between unstable angina, the preinfarction syndrome, and acute myocardial infarction. It was only possible for acute myocardial infarction and the concept of reduction of infarct size to be briefly discussed within the chapter on pathophysiology of acute coronary insufficiency. The chapter on invasive methods provided an opportunity to touch on new approaches to early intervention in acute myocardial infarction. Here, intracoronary streptokinase therapy and PTCA are considered, again with attention to the overlap between mechanical and pharmacological interventions.

Nitroglycerin and other organic nitrates have been used for over a century in the treatment of angina pectoris. Millions of patients, throughout the world, have placed nitroglycerin tablets under the tongue and have experienced rapid and dramatic relief from the chest pain that frequently occurs as a manifestation of disease of the coronary arteries. The empirical observation of the safe use of nitrates for tile alleviation of the symptoms of angina have led to their widespread medical acceptance. The use of organic nitrates preceded any knowledge of their mechanism of action or their ultimate metabolic fate. Thus, more simply stated, although sub lingual nitrates helped the patients, little was known concerning what these drugs do to the body or what the body does to the drugs. A substantial number of investigators have focused on these questions especially during the last two decades. We now have considerably more insight into the pathways of degradation of organic nitrates and the relationship of the metabolic processes to the biological action of these agents. Similarly, considerable effort has been expended in understanding the mechanism of action of these agents directly on vascular smooth muscle and on cardiac work and performance. Finally, there is a more substantive understanding of the physiology of the coronary circulation as well as the" pathophysiologic manifestations of myocardial disease.

In the past two decades a number of studies have shown that abnormalities in the function and structure of coronary microcirculation can be detected in several cardiovascular diseases. On the basis of the clinical setting in which it occurs, coronary microvascular dysfunction (CMD) can be classified into four types: CMD in the absence of any other cardiac disease; CMD in myocardial diseases; CMD in obstructive epicardial coronary artery disease; and iatrogenic CMD. In some instances CMD represents an epiphenomenon, whereas in others it represents an important marker of risk or may contribute to the pathogenesis of myocardial ischemia, thus becoming a possible therapeutic target. This book provides an update on coronary physiology and a systematic assessment of microvascular abnormalities in cardiovascular diseases, in the hope that it will assist clinicians in prevention, detection and management of CMD in their everyday activity.

This book is intended for general cardiologists and other physicians involved in the care of patients with chronic stable angina (CSA). The goal of this book is to update clinicians on recent data on the medical management of patients with CSA. Ischemic heart disease remains a major public health problem. Chronic stable angina is the initial manifestation of ischemic heart disease in approximately one half of patients. Stable coronary artery disease is generally characterized by episodes of reversible myocardial demand/supply mismatch, related to ischaemia or hypoxia, which are usually inducible by exercise, emotion or other stress and reproducible—but, which may also be occurring spontaneously. Such episodes of ischaemia/hypoxia are commonly associated with transient chest discomfort (angina pectoris). The aim of the management of CSA is to reduce symptoms and improve prognosis. The management of these patients encompasses lifestyle modification, control of coronary artery disease risk factors, evidence-based pharmacological therapy and patient education. All patients with stable angina should be offered optimal medical treatment, defined as one or two anti-anginal drugs as necessary, plus drugs for secondary prevention of cardiovascular disease. Regarding the role of revascularization, randomised trials provide compelling evidence that myocardial revascularisation by coronary artery bypass grafting or by percutaneous coronary intervention improves symptoms of angina relative to continued medical treatment.

Coronary Vasodilators assesses the state of knowledge of the pharmacological effects, the mechanisms responsible for these effects, and the therapeutic importance of classical drugs as well as recent medications on which experimental and clinical investigations are still too few to allow of definite judgment. The book is organized into four chapters. Chapter I is devoted to the influences controlling coronary blood flow. Chapter II reviews the experimental methods commonly used in pharmacological research with a critical assessment of their possibilities and limitations. Chapter III discusses methods recommended by clinical research workers for evaluating the effectiveness of anti-anginal medications in the patient. Chapter IV describes pharmacology and clinical features of coronary vasodilators. The substances considered are group into four sections. The first contains the coronary vasodilator drugs actually used in cardiovascular therapeutics. The second consists of sympathicomimetic substances which modify general and local hemodynamic conditions profoundly and thus produce increased coronary flow. In the third section are brought together drugs used on man for particular therapeutic properties which have coronary vasodilator action, uncertain in the case of some, and which, for various reasons, cannot be used in the treatment of angina. The fourth section collects together a variety of substances, most of which are not drugs, reported in the literature as having vasodilator activity at coronary circulation level.

Building on the strengths of previous editions, the Sixth Edition of Modern Pharmacology with Clinical Applications continues to provide an up-to-date and comprehensive textbook for students of pharmacology. Focusing on the clinical application of drugs within a context of the major principles of pharmacology, this text supplies both students and faculty with an introduction to modern pharmacotherapeutics.