This extensively revised fourth edition provides coverage from basic outlines of the fundamental principles of how the cardiovascular system works in health and disease through to more advanced physiological mechanisms and intracellular transduction pathways. The updated text incorporates the major advances int he field since the first edition, whild retaining the original balance and style. New sections include the contribution of wave reflection to systolic hypertension and the role of kinases in vascular contraction, while increased coverage of myocardial ischaemia and advances in understanding cardiac failure and arrhythmogenesis enhance the clinical relevance of the text.