Norman M. Kaplan, MD. 7th Edition. 444 pp.
Baltimore, Md: Williams & Wilkins; 1998. $79.00.
ISBN 0-683-30132-2.
Clinical Hypertension, 7th edition, by Norman M.
Kaplan with a chapter by Ellin Lieberman, is the latest version of a
book that first appeared in 1973 with the aim of providing a practical
guide to the diagnosis and treatment of hypertension. The book is
essentially a single-authored text but is balanced and comprehensive.
It provides the reader with sufficient
pathophysiological detail to permit reasoned
decisions regarding diagnosis and treatment for specific patients. This
text is not a compendium of knowledge on the subject of hypertension
and the mechanisms that underlie it. It is not aimed at research
questions in hypertension but rather seeks to provide a practical
overview of the subject for the clinician. Controversies are filtered
through the eyes of the author but are presented in a generally
balanced fashion. At times, two conflicting
representative references are simply cited in
association with the author's opinion. Although this approach is not
comprehensive, it is practical. The book succeeds, as did previous
editions, in providing the clinician with practical, in-depth knowledge
useful in the treatment of the patient.
This latest edition contains updated chapters on the pathogenesis of
primary hypertension, and while some readers may quest for more
detailed information on the newly emerging field of genetics in
hypertension, the chapter is, in fact, reasonably comprehensive.
Treatment guidelines and options, as well as nondrug treatments, are
discussed fully, as are the
© 1998 American Heart Association, Inc.
Book Reviews
Book Reviews
Clinical Hypertension