Table of Contents

The nature of flow of a liquid. Properties of the arterial wall: theory. Properties of the arterial wall: practice. Endothelial function. General principles for measuring arterial waves. Pulsatile pressure-flow relations. Ultrasound. Wave reflections. Contours of pressure and flow waves in arteries. Principles of recording and analysis of arterial waveforms. Vascular impedance. Aortic input impedance as ventricular load. Coupling of the left ventricle with the systemic circulation: implications to cardiac failure. Cardiac failure: clinical implications. The pulmonary circulation. The coronary circulation. Special circulations. Aging. Hypertension. Interpretation of blood pressure in epidemiological studies and clinical trials. Arterial biomarkers. Atherosclerosis. Specific arterial disease. Generalized and metabolic disease. Therapeutic strategies. Exercise. Central arterial pressure. Lifestyle and environment. Pressure pulse waveform analysis.

About the Author

Wilmer W Nichols PhD - Department of Medicine and Physiology, University of Florida College of Medicine, Gainesville, FL, USA
Michael F O'Rourke MD DSc - Cardiovascular Department, St Vincent's Clinic and Hospital, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, Australia
Charalambos Vlachopoulos MD - 1st Department of Cardiology, Athens Medical School, Hippokration Hospital, Athens, Greece