Editors: Douglas P. Zipes, MD, and Jose Jalife, MD
Publisher: Elsevier Saunders – 1365 pages, 742 illustrations
Book Review by: Nano Khilnani

This book is a compendium of the latest research and established knowledge in the subspecialty of cardiac electrophysiology. The editors use a multidisciplinary approach to present to you a wide range of information, the underlying basic science, to the most recent drugs, techniques, and technologies.

Among the disciplines the 268 authors of chapters in this book are specialists in, are: biophysics, cardiothoracic surgery, cell biology, electrophysiology, integrative physiology, molecular biology, pathology, pediatrics, and pharmacology.

The physicians and scientists in related medical fields who contributed content for this book are from the United States and 17 other countries: Australia, Brazil, Britain, Canada, China, France, Germany, Israel, Italy, Japan, Mexico, the Netherlands, Norway, Saudi Arabia, Spain, Sweden, and Switzerland.

This wide-ranging book of more than 1,300 pages and over 130 chapters covers a lot of ground, so we provide you here an overview of its contents by naming the 18 Parts under which the chapters are organized:

  1. Structural Molecular Bases of Ion Channel Function
  2. Biophysics of Cardiac Ion Channel Function
  3. Intermolecular Interactions and Cardiomyocyte Electrical Function
  4. Cell Biology of Cardiac Impulse Initiation and Propagation
  5. Models of Cardiac Excitation
  6. Neural Control of Cardiac Electrical Activity
  7. Arrhythmia Mechanisms
  8. Molecular Genetics and Pharmacogenomics
  9. Pharmacologic, Genetic, and Cell Therapy of Ion Channel Dysfunction
  10. Diagnostic Evaluation
  11. Supraventricular Tachyarrhythmias: Mechanisms, Clinical Features, and Management
  12. Ventricular Tachyarrhythmias: Mechanisms, Clinical Features, and Management
  13. Syncope and AV Block
  14. Arrhythmias in Special Populations
  15. Pharmacologic Therapy
  16. Electrical Therapy
  17. Surgery for Arrhythmias
  18. New Approaches

You can access the contents of this book online through any Internet-ready device. You can also search all Expert Consult titles you own. And link to PubMed abstracts.

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For technical assistance, email: [email protected]. Or call 1-800-401-9962 in the United States or 1-314-995-3200 outside the U.S.

You can view videos relating to four chapters in this book: chapters 1, 70, 87, and 129.

The chapters follow a systematic format in presenting material. A Chapter Outline is the beginning feature, with the main points of coverage itemized. A paragraph or two entitled Background sometimes starts out the chapter by providing an overview of the subject as indicated by the chapter title.

In the discussion of the main points, allied topics offer details, and visuals elucidate on the subject matter.

These visuals take several forms, with the main ones being full-color charts and drawings; also tables with arrays of relevant data. Conclusions and extensive lists of References are provided at the end of each chapter.

You can also get even more valuable information from another website – www.ClinicalKey.com. This search engine of Elsevier Saunders is specially designed for doctors by providing them:

  1. Comprehensive Content – the most current, evidence-based answers available for every medical and surgical specialty
  2. Trusted Answers – content supplied by Elsevier, the world’s leading provider of health and science information
  3. Unrivaled Speed to Answer – faster, more relevant clinical answers, so you can spend less time searching and more time caring for your patients

Here are the benefits you can derive from using this book:

  • Integrate the latest scientific understanding of arrhythmias with the newest clinical applications, to select the right treatment and management options for each patient.
  • Stay current with the latest advancements and developments with sweeping updates and 52 new chapters written by many new authors on some of the hottest topics such as new technologies for the study of molecular structure of ion channels, molecular genetics, and the development of new imaging, mapping and ablation techniques.
  • Get expert advice from Dr. Douglas P. Zipes, a leading authority in electrophysiology and editor of Brunwald’s  Heart Disease and Heart Rhythm ; and Dr. Jose Jalife, a world-renowned leader and researcher in basic and translational cardiac electrophysiology.
  • Access the full text online at expertconsult.com, including supplemental text, figures, tables, and video clips.

This is a very extensive text on the subspecialty of cardiac electrophysiology in the specialty of cardiology. It is also a highly authoritative one, with authorship of its 132 chapters by some of the leading experts in their specific areas. All of this has been painstakingly put together by two of the world’s foremost names in electrophysiology, named below.

Douglas P. Zipes, MD is Emeritus Professor of Medicine, Pharmacology, and Toxicology; Emeritus Director of the Division of Cardiology and the Krannert Institute of Cardiology at Indiana University School of Medicine in Indianapolis, Indiana. He is also Editor-in-Chief of Heart Rhythm and of Practice Update/Cardiology.

Jose Jalife, MD is the Cyrus and Jane Farrehi Professor of Cardiovascular Research; Professor of Internal Medicine, and Professor of Molecular and Integrative Physiology at the University of Michigan Medical School. He is also Co-Director of the University of Michigan Center for Arrhythmia Research in Ann Arbor, Michigan.