Foreword
“It gives me great pleasure to support the publication of the Oxford Handbook of Cardiology. It's an important book on a very important subject. The death toll from cardiovascular disease across the world is enormous and growing as we successfully tackle other major global killers.The fact that the majority of such deaths are already preventable underlines the responsibility of governments and health services in every country to work harder to improve care and reduce cardiovascular risk factors. In the United Kingdom, the Government and the National Health Service has taken very seriously - and with real success – this responsibility in recent years but we also recognise there is a great deal more to do.
As a politician, I am, of course, very aware of the importance of good cardiac care. But it was as a patient myself that I recently witnessed first hand the skills and dedication of NHS cardiologists and their colleagues. What I saw reinforced my respect for the expertise and commitment within our health service and my determination to continue helping the NHS to improve care.”
With millions of people now dying prematurely and unnecessarily from heart disease across the world, it's obviously important that knowledge and expertise are spread as widely as possible. That's the purpose of this book by Punit Ramrakha and Jonathan Hill. Their hope is that it can play its part in informing and inspiring doctors, nurses and other health professionals to continue improving the quality and standards of care for patients with heart disease worldwide.”
