Reviews and Notes: Cardiology: Textbook of Interventional Cardiology

Textbook of Interventional Cardiology

Second edition. Eric J. Topol. 1392 pages. Philadelphia: W. B. Saunders; 1994. $179.00.

Interventional cardiology began only 12 years ago with the work of the late Andreas Gruentzig, and this is already the second edition of this book. The first was published in 1990, and since then, "exponential progression and maturation in the field" has occurred. The book now has 112 contributors and 84 chapters, making it twice as long as the first edition. Its two volumes comprise 1503 pages and 2124 illustrations. Included are two important chapters: "Medical Economics and Health Policy Issues for Interventional Cardiology," which explains how cost-effectiveness is assessed "scientifically," and "Quality of Care in Interventional Cardiology," which begins with the numbers. In the past decade, the number of angioplasties done annually in the United States has increased to more than 400 000, compared with 3900 in Belgium, which has the next highest amount, and only 89 in the United Kingdom! These numbers alone explain this quote in the Editor's introduction: It is abundantly clear that expanding basic science and clinical trials will be the most important goal for the future. An outstanding text that should be readily accessible to anyone doing interventional cardiology procedures or caring for or referring patients for such procedures.