Arterial Hypertension: Pathogenesis, Diagnosis, and Therapy

Abstract

This is an excellent reference work suitable for all clinicians dealing with hypertension. In 35 chapters the pathogenesis, diagnosis, and treatment of the disease are discussed in detail by a group of distinguished experts, the majority from West Germany. There are areas that are of particular note in this book. These include chapters providing an overview of the entire subject, the role of the CNS in hypertension, the kallikrein-kinin and prostaglandin systems, and central hemodynamics and cardiac function in hypertension. In the section dealing with elevated blood pressure in pregnancy, a controversial and important subject, an expansion of the discussion on therapy would have been welcome. The discussion of childhood hypertension includes a full presentation of coarctation of the aorta, in addition to broader aspects of the entire topic. The chapter on radiological methods of diagnosis could have benefited from a portion dealing with the technique of digital subtraction angiography