Ethnic Diversities, Hypertension and Global Cardiovascular Risk (Updates in Hypertension and Cardiovascular Protection)

In the context of the most significant influx of migrants in European history, the objective of this book is to provide healthcare professionals with essential knowledge and skills to effectively treat and prevent cardiovascular diseases in ethnic minorities.
Acknowledging that the scientific and cultural training of health professionals on the specific health needs of minority groups is still limited and likely biased, the book sheds light on the different health policies in European countries as well as epidemiologic data on cardiovascular events among migrants. In addition, it presents an in-depth analysis of potential ethnic-group-specific drivers of global  cardiovascular risk within this new and challenging framework  – as well as issues related to its prevention and treatment.
The prevalence of hypertension, diabetes, chronic kidney disease, obesity, and metabolic syndrome is found to be higher among most minority groups than in the native population, yet theiraccess to treatment and health services may be limited by cultural and language barriers. As health professionals are confronted with such intercultural challenges on a daily basis, specific training and dedicated publications are thus essential to accompany and foster a constructive development towards a pluralist and healthier society. This book addresses that need, offering a unique and revealing resource.

Pietro Amedeo Modesti received his degree in medicine from the University of Florence, where he also trained in Internal Medicine and Cardiology, prior to completing his studies abroad. He has been an Associate Professor of Internal Medicine since 2000, and is currently responsible for the Internal Medicine courses at the Faculty of Medicine and Faculty of Engineering at the University of Florence, as well as in several resident schools, and coordinator of a Master course on “Immigration management”. Further, he serves on the editorial boards of several prestigious international journals. His clinical and research activities largely focuses on internal medicine, especially the pathophysiology, clinical aspects and prevention of cardiovascular diseases as well as the determinants of cardiovascular risk factors among ethnic groups, and in low- and middle income countries. He coordinated interventions in Yemen (HYDY, on behalf of the Ministero Affari Esteri), Libya (on behalf ofthe National Research Council of Libya), and Eritrea (founder of the College of Health Sciences in Asmara). He is the author of several works published in the most renowned international journals (Lancet, Circulation, American Journal of Physiology, and Hypertension).

Francesco Cappuccio is a cardiovascular physician, clinical epidemiologist and public health expert. After completing his medical degree in Naples, he moved to London, where he trained at Charing Cross Hospital, St. George’s Hospital Medical School and the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine. In 2000 he became a Professor of Clinical Epidemiology & Primary Care at St George’s Hospital Medical School. He moved to Warwick in July 2005 to take up the newly established Cephalon Chair in Cardiovascular Medicine & Epidemiology. He is also Consultant Physician at the University Hospitals in Coventry where he heads the European Society of Hypertension Center of Excellence.  He is Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians, Faculty of Public Health, British & Irish Hypertension Society, European Society of Cardiology and American Heart Association. He is the Head of the World Health Organization Collaborating Centre for Nutrition and President of the British & Irish Hypertension Society. He has published over 450 articles in peer-review international journals and textbooks.

Gianfranco Parati is a Full Professor of Cardiovascular Medicine at the Department of Clinical Medicine and Prevention, University of Milano-Bicocca, and Head of the Department of Cardiovascular, Neural and Metabolic Medicine and Rehabilitation Science at S. Luca Hospital, Milan, Italy. He trained in internal medicine and cardiology at the University of Milan, and subsequently spent a year as a Visiting Scientist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and at the Children’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School. His main interests are in the pathophysiology and treatment of hypertension, neural autonomic modulation of the cardiovascular system, telemedicine, congestive heart failure, arterial stiffness, effects of high altitude on cardiovascular regulation and respiratory patterns. He is currently a reviewer for several international journals, and over the years served on the Editorial Board of several others. He is currently Executive Editor of the Journal of Hypertension.