Clinical Management of Cardiovascular Risk Factors in Diabetes 2nd Edition. Marvin Moser and James R. Sowers 288 pages . West Islip, NY ; Professional Communications, Inc. ; 2005 $21.95 . ISBN 1932610014 The burgeoning population of diabetes in the United States creates the need for clinicians to understand more about earlier and more intensive treatment strategies to prevent the target organ consequences of diabetes. Both nonpharmacologic and pharmacologic means of improved control of blood pressure, cholesterol, and glucose are critical. Moser and Sowers have created an enjoyable and simplistic text that is a useful resource for clinicians to receive the most up-to-date information about optimal treatment regimens. As the authors outlined in their introduction, there are many texts that are more encyclopedic, reviewing management strategies about cardiovascular risk reduction measures in people with diabetes. However, this text is designed to provide a broad outline and a practical approach to the management of cardiovascular risk factors in diabetics by presenting their information in a small, soft-cover handbook. This shortens the turnaround time to provide the most current information for clinicians and offers information that is recent and up-to-date about important strategies for the treatment of blood pressure, cholesterol, and glucose. One of the nicest aspects of the book is that the table of contents is very well organized. They first address the epidemiology and scope of the problem, followed by a description of the pathophysiology of accelerated vascular disease in diabetics, and finish with management approaches. They primarily focus the book on blood pressure, cholesterol, and glucose, which is appropriate. They also provide some discussion about special populations. The book is organized well and paginated in a way so that the reader can turn immediately to the section of interest. Most important, the authors have blended their writing styles in a seamless fashion. Each chapter in and of itself can serve as its own text and does not depend on the other chapters for continuity. They are logically organized and utilize excellent tables and figures that are not necessarily reduplications from previously published articles, but are adapted by the authors to provide a more logical and intuitive approach for describing or managing different clinical problems. A good part about each chapter is that they provide preferred, select readings rather than hundreds of references. At the end of each section is a useful summary that states the author's views on how to best interpret the information and utilize it in clinical practice. The authors also provide a summary of recommendations for cardiovascular disease risk reduction at the end of the book, which I found particularly enlightening and a well-written conclusion to the entire book. For all of these reasons, I found the book enjoyable and readable. It is succinct and to the point. The authors' interpretation of the literature is reasonable and balanced and will provide the reader with an important opportunity to gain a quick grasp of optimal management strategies for some of the key problems that we face in patients with diabetes. As the authors state at the end of their book, management need not be complicated, expensive, or involved. In a way, I completely agree. However, more often than not, it is complicated, expensive, and involved. Because of that, this type of book provides an important handbook reference of current opinions by two experienced physicians and authors on optimal treatment strategies. My compliments to the authors on this second edition of their book.—Matthew R. Weir, MD, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD
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Nov 1, 2008
Michael Paech + 1
Open Access
