In his great novel, The Magic Mountain, Thomas Mann comments, "A man lives not only his personal life, as an individual, but also, consciously or unconsciously, the life of his epoch and his contemporaries." On reflection, it seems incredible that coronary care units have existed in our hospitals for no more than ten years, since medical practice for many of us has been so profoundly affected by the concepts of continuous cardiac monitoring and aggressive preventive care.
The editors have invited contributors from eight nations to discuss 50 subjects related to coronary care, including the diagnosis and clinical course of acute myocardial infarction and the management of its major complications. An attempt has been made throughout to provide hard data about the subject material, such as the incidence of each complication and a critical appraisal of the recommended therapy. Indeed, the effectiveness of the entire system of coronary care is