In any textbook, basic scientific knowledge, and the art of clinical practice should be brought together in a rational manner and this volume on cardio­ vascular therapy attempts to achieve this aim. It deals with five selected areas - hypertension, angina and coronary artery disease, heart failure and anticoa­ gulant therapy. Clearly not all branches of cardiovascular therapeutics could be included; a separate section on anti-arrhythmic drugs is noticeably absent but it is proposed that this omission will be rectified in other volumes in the series. In general, textbooks on therapeutics tend to be ephemeral; as new discoveries are made and evaluated, medical practice changes. This volume then summarizes current opinion up to mid 1984 and gives, we believe, a reasoned account of present views. The contributors are all clinical pharma­ cologists with a wealth of clinical experience. The therapeutic advice given is well founded and the underlying scientific basis is clearly explained. The book is aimed at postgraduates, but should the undergraduate care to dip into it, we hope he will be informed and thereby educated. A. Breckenridge vii Series Editor's Note The last few decades have seen an explosion in our knowledge of cardiovas­ cular disease as a result of research in many disciplines. The tempo of research is ever increasing, so that it is becoming more and more difficult for one person to encompass the whole spectrum of the advances taking place on many fronts.