Hypercholesterolemia And Atherosclerosis

Cholesterol is a soft, waxy substance found among the lipids (fats) in the bloodstream and in all the body's cells. It's an important part of a healthy body because it's used to form cell membranes, some hormones and is needed for other functions. But a high level of cholesterol in the blood -- hypercholesterolemia -- is a major risk factor for coronary heart disease, which leads to heart attack. Cholesterol and other fats can't dissolve in the blood. They have to be transported to and from the cells by special carriers called lipoproteins. There are several kinds, but the key ones are low-density lipoprotein (LDL) and high-density lipoprotein (HDL) Low-density lipoprotein is the major cholesterol carrier in the blood. If too much LDL cholesterol circulates in the blood, it can slowly build up in the walls of the arteries feeding the heart and brain. Together with other substances it can form plaque, a thick, hard deposit that can clog those arteries. This field is alive with exciting new research in all areas including frontal advances in the areas of managing cholesterol as well as cholesterol lowering drugs. This new book focuses on cholesterol in atherosclerosis and coronary heart disease.

This book is aimed to accentuate the importance of hypercholesterolemia, since targeting and treating the hypercholesterolemia is increasingly well known as an essential strategy in the prevention of atherosclerosis-induced cardiovascular disease. It is important to look at hypercholesterolemia as it is proved to be crucial as well as the early stage of atherogenesis and can also be managed with appropriate treatment. This book describes the basics of hypercholesterolemia and its causes and various experimental animal models to understand and study the pathophysiology of hypercholesterolemia as well as to present practice-based clinical approaches to treat hypercholesterolemia. Further, the book describes various treatment strategies of hypercholesterolemia in detail, especially the appropriate use of statin. It is well known that the use of statin is an ideal as well as a potent therapy to lower cholesterol level and also has various beneficial pharmacological effects to prevent cardiovascular diseases. However, there exists less awareness about the use of statin. Hence, it is important to understand the appropriate use of statin in terms of doses for different stages of hypercholesterolemia, side effects, resistance of its use, and also interaction of statin with other drugs, which are well described in this book. In short, the major aim of this compendium is to present to the readers comprehensive, updated, and current research perspectives on hypercholesterolemia.

Abstract: This text attempts to summarize and interpret current understanding of the lipoproteins, their relationship to coronary heart disease, and methods of dealing with hyperlipoproteinemia clinically. This volume is intended for the medical practitioner who wants to be aware of recent developments and who wants to know how patients should be diagnosed and managed. Topics include: causes and prevention of atherosclerosis and coronary heart disease, lowering plasma cholesterol levels, classification and diagnosis of hyperlipidemia, and dietary and drug treatment of hyperlipidemia.

New updated edition first published with Cambridge University Press. This new edition includes 29 chapters on topics as diverse as pathophysiology of atherosclerosis, vascular haemodynamics, haemostasis, thrombophilia and post-amputation pain syndromes.

Stroke is a major cause of death and the major cause of adult neurological disability in most of the world. Despite its importance on a population basis, research into the genetics of stroke has lagged behind that of many other disorders. However, the situation is now changing. Anincreasing number of single gene disorders causing stroke are being described, and there is growing evidence that polygenic factors are important in the risk of apparently "sporadic" stroke.Stroke Genetics provides an up-to-date review of the area, suitable for clinicians treating stroke patients, and both clinical and non-clinical researchers in the field of cerebrovascular disease. The full range of monogenic stroke disorders causing cerebrovascular disease, including ischaemicstroke, intracerebral haemorrhage, aneurysms and arteriovenous malformations, are covered. For each, clinical features, diagnosis, and genetics are described. Increasing evidence suggest that genetic factors are also important for the much more common multifactorial stroke; this evidence isreviewed along with the results of genetic studies in this area. Optimal and novel strategies for investigating multifactorial stroke, including the use of intermediate phenotypes such as intima-media thickness and MRI detected small vessel disease are reviewed. The book concludes by describing apractical approach to investigating patients with stroke for underlying genetic disorders. Also included is a list of useful websites.

This book, for physicians and health care workers, has chapters on epidemiology, clinical chemistry, nutrition, pharmacotherapy and behavior management for atherosclerosis in children and youth.

A number of clinical and epidemiological studies have shown that disorders of lipoprotein metabolism constitute one of the most important risk factors for the development of atherosclerosis and coronary heart disease. This volume examines the state of the art of lipoprotein subclass metabolism and its relation to these diseases. The authors also report on new developments concerning the role of lipoprotein recptors, macrophages and apolipoprotein E polymorphism in cholesterol homeostasis. The combination of general outline form and very specific aspects of cholesterol transport will interest those in other disciplines following developments in the field, as well as those directly involved in lipoprotein research.

This book aims to provide non-specialist healthcare practitioners with current, focused and objective information on the most common vascular diseases encountered in daily clinical practice. In day-to-day clinical practice many healthcare practitioners do not have a working knowledge of the most common vascular diseases that frequently arise in patient care. Some of these topics include: aneurysms, peripheral arterial disease, diabetic foot, venous thromboembolism, cerebrovascular disease, aortic dissection, and acute limb ischemia. These commonly encountered vascular diseases are becoming public health issues due to their high morbidity and mortality as well as increasing healthcare costs. Since patients with vascular diseases are often referred to non-specialists, the general practitioner must know how to proper handle the most common vascular diseases encountered in daily clinical practice. For each disease the concept, epidemiology, natural history, diagnosis and treatment are described, followed by essential advice on what the non-specialist can do for the patient and when to refer the patient to a specialist.