description: Congenital and acquired disorders of the heart are among the most commonly encountered clinical problems in small animal practice. During the past 10 years there have been significant advances in diagnostic modalities and in the therapy of heart disease. The introduction of echocardiography and vasoactive drug therapy and new appreciation of previously unrecognized or poorly characterized clinical conditions, like hyperthyroidism in cats, have widened the scope of clinical cardiology. The purpose of this volume is to review important aspects of clinical cardiology, including specific areas of cardiovascular medicine as well as more general topics. Chapters pertaining to evaluation of clinical problems and cardiovascular drug therapy provide information for the practicing veterinarian about the recognition of heart disease in dogs and cats and the types of medications available for therapy of specific disorders. Information from these chapters should be useful in the management of specific types of cardiovascular disease, namely, malformations and disorders of the heart valves, myocardium, pericardium, impulse forming and conduction systems, and pulmonary vascular tree. While a volume of this type cannot be a compendium of all cardiovascular diseases, I believe the reader will find these chapters valuable for further understanding the clinical manifestations and therapy of heart disease.
language: English
title: Cardiology
titlecomplete: Cardiology (Contemporary Issues in Small Animal Practice)
publisher: Churchill Livingstone