An illuminating and timely synthesis of methodological and clinical studies showing how medical costs can be established, how the value of clinical outcomes can be assessed, and how difficult choices can be rationally made. The methodological chapters review the conceptual and practical issues involved in estimating and interpreting health care costs, making health status and utility assessments, and statistically analyzing cost-effectiveness and clinical trials. The clinical chapters apply these methods to the major clinical areas of cardiology-primary prevention of coronary artery disease, acute coronary syndromes, angioplasty vs coronary bypass surgery, CABG vs medicine, congestive heart failure, arrhythmias, and cardiac surgery. Additional chapters consider the use of economic studies for policy purposes and the future of Medicare under a balanced budget in an aging America.

The principle of equality is the ideological basis for the public healthcare system in most Western countries. Equality in availability of and access to healthcare services is an essential condition for fulfilling the “patient-centered” perspective that prevails today in many healthcare systems around the world. Equality in health, in its various aspects, is a value to which many aspire, although some extent of inequality and health will always exist. Since some disparities in health are unavoidable and individuals are free to live as they wish, there will always be gaps among population groups in their abilities and willingness to invest in their health.

This two volume set presents recent advances in the knowledge and technology related to the field of cardiology. Beginning with a basic introduction, the text continues with a step by step approach through the subject, covering topics such as cardiovascular pharmacology, electrophysiology, coronary heart diseases, myocardial and pericardial disease and more. With contributions from leading international experts and over 1500 colour photographs, each chapter contains additional comments and guidelines from reputed international bodies. The book is accompanied by a DVD ROM containing high quality video footage of echocardiography.

The Topol Solution gives you a complete print and multimedia package consisting of Textbook of Cardiovascular Medicine, Third Edition, a DVD, and access to a wealth of online resources. Updated throughout by renowned international authorities, Dr. Topol's best-selling text provides a comprehensive, contemporary view of every area of cardiovascular medicine--preventive cardiology; clinical cardiology; cardiovascular imaging; electrophysiology and pacing; invasive cardiology and surgical techniques; heart failure and transplantation; molecular cardiology; and vascular biology and medicine. The bound-in DVD contains the full text, plus heart sounds, an image/chart/table bank, and videos of procedures--catheterization, CT/MRI, echocardiography, electrophysiology and pacing, intravascular ultrasonography, nuclear cardiology, and surgery. The Topol Solution Website includes the fully searchable text, heart sounds, and an image/chart/table bank downloadable to PowerPoint--plus questions and answers from The Cleveland Clinic Cardiology Board Review; a PDA download of cardiology drug facts; quarterly articles from Critical Pathways in Cardiology, and links to other cardiology Websites.FEATURES: - Thoroughly updated Third Edition of best-selling Textbook of Cardiovascular Medicine, plus DVD and instant access to a wealth of online resources- THE TEXT: - Renowned international contributors- A comprehensive, contemporary view of every area of cardiovascular medicine-preventive cardiology; clinical cardiology; cardiovascular imaging; electrophysiology and pacing; invasive cardiology and surgical techniques; heart failure and transplantation; molecular cardiology; and vascular biology and medicine- Focus on clinical material, particularly the application of clinical research to practice- Each chapter includes comments on current controversies and pioneering insights into future developments- THE BOUND-IN DVD: - Full content of book- Heart sounds-a

Topics include: Why Economics Matters to Critical Care Clinicians, Overview of Health Economics: Basics Concept for Clinicians;Health Economic Methods; Costs of Critical Care Medicine; Economic Aspects of Sepsis and Severe Infections; Economic Aspects of Renal Failure and Acute Kidney Injury; Economic Aspects of Cardiovascular Disease; Economics of Mechanical Ventilation and Respiratory Failure and Comparative Effective Research and Health Care Reform.

This is the most complete text available on the economics of health behavior and health care delivery. Appropriate both for advanced undergraduate and beginning graduate students of economics, this text provides the key analytical tools required to understand current research. Issues discussed include the "cost explosion" in health care, the power of medical associations, the search for remuneration systems with favorable incentives, and technological change in medicine. Rather than simplifying the issues facing today’s healthcare systems, the book models existing complexities as they are, adapting economics to reflect the views of the average person.

Recognized scientists and clinicians from around the world discuss the most recent molecular approaches to understanding the cardiovascular system in both health and disease. The authors focus on all components of the system, including blood vessels, heart, kidneys, and the brain, and cover disease states ranging from vascular and cardiac dysfunction to stroke and hypertension. The methods described for identifying the genes that cause susceptibility to cardiovascular diseases emphasize the possibility of discovering new drug targets. Authoritative and ground-breaking, Cardiovascular Genomics offers an unprecedented examination of both the cutting-edge scientific approaches now possible and the results obtained from them in the new science of cardiovascular genomics.

This reference presents the Consensus Statement from the 1995 Conference on Physical Activity and Cardiovascular Health and the supporting papers presented by the experts assembled there.

This book evaluates trends arising in “-Omics” sciences in terms of their current and potential future application to therapeutic design and understanding of disease. Chapters consider the impact of pharmacogenomics and bioinformatics on drug development, as well as trends in genomics, as applied to understanding of neurodegenerative and lung disease, psychiatry and oncology. Following the genome studies released in early part of this century, the advent of the -Omics sciences (genomics and pharmacogenomics, proteomics, metabolomics, transcriptomics) has seen the expansion of a vast knowledgebase with utility in preventing and treating disease, and improving health for all. Bioinformatics and improved pharmacogenetic understanding forge a path for improved drug discovery and design methods accounting for differences in delivery and disposition across populations.

This book provides the reader with a comprehensive set of instructions and examples of how to perform a cost-benefit analysis (CBA) of a health intervention. Developed out of a course run by Jordan Louviere at the University of Technology, Sydney, entitled An Introduction to Stated Preference Discrete Choice Modelling it has a particular focus on the use of stated preference survey methods to identify consumer preference data, as well as the use of recent developments incost-effectiveness analysis within a CBA framework. In doing so, the most up to date methodologies for CBA are compiled in a comprehensive manner with the aim of advancing the methodology of CBA in healthcare.ABOUT THE SERIESSeries editors Alastair Gray and Andrew BriggsEconomic evaluation of health intervention is a growing specialist field, and this series of practical handbooks tackles, in depth, topics superficially addressed in more general economics books. Each volume includes illustrative material, case histories and worked examples to encourage the reader to apply the methods discussed, with supporting material provided online. The series is aimed at health economists in academia, the pharmaceutical industry and the health sector, those on advancedhealth economics courses, and health researchers in associated fields.