Review of heart disease

The Internet is great for reviewing literature rapidly, but the more I use it, the more I realise that the classic “Review article” has a role. PubMed can be very efficient for accessing publications, but drawing accurate conclusions can be hard work and reliance on abstracts can stifle critical analysis. Independent critical comment is difficult to find electronically. Journals realise they have to hold back some full-text editorial material for their loyal subscribers, and websites may be “free” because they are heavily sponsored. Systematic Cochrane-type reviews are readily accessible on the Internet, and are great if one needs to quantify evidence, but they can be a dull read.

Tonkin’s book very effectively uses the classic “Review article” format in an ambitious attempt to review current knowledge on atherosclerosis and heart disease. The book consists of 15 chapters, covering the pathophysiology of atherosclerosis, each of the major coronary risk factors, the scientific basis of management of the main clinical coronary syndromes and the complications of coronary heart disease, including cardiac failure and arrhythmia. Tonkin is Director of Health and Scientific Affairs at the National Heart Foundation of Australia and he has selected some of the world’s most respected and influential practitioners in cardiovascular research to present authoritative and balanced overviews. Each is a very useful summary of current knowledge. There is some inconsistency in the format, with some chapters omitting detailed referencing and recommending “further reading”, while others are completely referenced, but this does not detract from the information presented. Clinicians and clinical researchers who want rapid access to balanced and reliable information on the commonest cause of premature death in this country will appreciate this book. For a compact and highly readable review of all the current work in atherosclerotic heart disease between two covers, it achieves its aim.

Peter L ThompsonCardiologist and Clinical Professor of Medicine and Population Health University of Western Australia Perth, WA