Winner of the BMA Cardiology Book Award 2019

This third edition of The ESC Textbook of Cardiovascular Medicine is a ground-breaking initiative from the European Soceity of Cardiology that transforms reference publishing in cardiovascular medicine to better serve the changing needs of the global cardiology community.

Providing the evidence-base behind clinical practice guidelines, with in-depth, peer-reviewed chapters and broad coverage of this fast-moving field, The ESC Textbook of Cardiovascular Medicine is an invaluable resource for cardiologists across the world.

Overseen by Professors A. John Camm, Thomas F. L�scher, Patrick W. Serruys, and Gerald Maurer, supported by an editorial board of subject experts and contributions from more than 1000 of the world’s leading specialists from research and the clinic, this dynamic encyclopaedic resource covers more than 63 disciplines with cardiology, providing readers with a trustworthy insight into all aspects of cardiovascular medicine.

This edition comes with free access to the new, digital resource, ESC CardioMed, which will be continually updated online by the author team. Uniquely, ESC CardioMed is cross-linked with the ESC Clinical Practice Guidelines in the European Heart Journal to provide the research and data behind the guidelines. The textbook is highly illustrated, with additional videos and multimedia resources available on ESC CardioMed.

As a consistently evolving knowledge base, The ESC Textbook of Cardiovascular Medicine, along with ESC CardioMed, equips all cardiologists – from trainees and consultants, to device specialists and allied heathcare professionals – with a powerful, multifaceted resource covering all aspects of cardiovascular medicine.

The glory of medicine is that it is always moving forward, that there is always more to learn. William James Mayo, 1928.

This third edition of The ESC Textbook of Cardiovascular Medicine is a welcome effort to enhance lifelong learning for cardiologists; indeed, it will be a great resource for all of those members of the healthcare team dedicated to the care of patients. ESC CardioMed, the new digital dimension with ongoing updates, is a particularly attractive feature and much needed to provide timely updates on topics. Reflection on Will Mayo�s quote from 1928 at a time of relatively slow growth in information to guide clinical practice compared to the current rapid pace of new diScoveries and ongoing analysis of clinical practice highlights the challenge for clinicians to ‘keep up’. Linking new evidence- based data to clinical practice guidelines with advanced digital technologies is a wonderful approach and will greatly enhance what happens at the bedside in clinical decision-making.

Medicine is a scholarly profession; this includes a commitment to lifelong learning which is one marker of the best in our profession. We critically analyse what we do and try to improve care for our patients with discovery, innovation, and sharing of experience. Those who maintain their scholarly endeavours, even while busily committed to heavy clinic practice responsibilities, will find considerable satisfaction with these ESC educational efforts. My own view is that scholarly activity, broadly defined, is an antidote for burnout among physicians. I am certain this third edition of The ESC Textbook of Cardiovascular Medicine and the ESC CardioMed digital version with updates will contribute importantly to enhancing care for the patients we serve and facilitate the scholarly milieu of clinical practice.

Robert L. Frye, MD
Rochester, Minnesota, US