Clinical Evidence: Cardiovascular Disorders. The international source of the best available evidence for cardiovascular health care (2002)

With the explosive increase in published material over the past decade, it remains very difficult for practitioners of medicine to keep up-to-date on the clinical evidence supporting best clinical practice. This is not only difficult for the generalist, but for the specialist as well. While the availability of the Internet has improved our ability to locate this information, clinicians and scientists at times feel bombarded by the breadth of information available.

The BMJ Publishing Group has been responsible for the publication Clinical Evidence, which is a continuously updated international source of evidence that evaluates clinical trials. Clinical trials have become the cornerstone of clinical practice, particularly in the area of cardiovascular disease. The current offering is devoted specifically to cardiovascular disorders and is reprinted from an issue of Clinical Evidence in 2001. Clinical Evidence has served as a unique resource because it is available online and is updated on a regular basis. This allows the practitioner to remain current in the area of clinical trials.

The current book, Clinical Evidence: Cardiovascular Disorders includes the best clinical evidence in cardiovascular trials related to a wide range of conditions. This includes most important areas of cardiology, such as the primary and secondary prevention of atherosclerosis, treatment of stable angina and acute coronary syndromes. In addition, there are sections related to cerebral vascular disease, acute treatment and prevention. There are also chapters related to obesity and its sequelae, the metabolic syndrome and diabetes mellitus. Both venous disease and thromboembolic disease are also covered. The major strength of the book is the very detailed and thorough review of the clinical trials in these areas. Not only are the data presented in terms of benefits, but there is explicit information on harms, number needed to treat and an unbiased approach to recommendations. Guidelines are not explicitly presented in this book. Each section is easy to follow, and is extensively and appropriately referenced. The major drawback of the book is obviously that by the nature of such a publication, it is out of date at the time of printing. This book is a reprint from a 2001 article, and as such, the data are current until the end of the year 2000. As such, it nicely serves as reference material for studies before that date. The online version could be consulted to determine what has occurred more recently. Although the book is easy to read, it is probably better suited as reference material when specific clinical questions arise.

In summary, this book is a detailed and thorough review of clinical trials in the area of cardiovascular medicine. In my view, it is best suited as a reference book for trials that took place before the year 2001. It offers generalists and specialists detailed information about past trials and serves as a basis for new information in the field. Although the majority of this information is available online on the clinical Web page, this book is a nice addition to one’s reference library.