"Drug Evaluation in Angina Pectoris" has two fundamental aims: the first is to review the methodological aspects of drug evaluation in stable and unstable angina pectoris; the second is to provide a logical and methodological background for future studies aimed at assessing the ability of medical treatment to improve prognosis. Part I updates the pathophysiology, clinical presentation and prognosis of angina pectoris. Part II aims to "put in numbers" the symptoms and signs of myocardial ischemia, starting from a revision of the currently used parameters. It is important to quantify the variability of the disease for the correct design of clinical trials, a subject dealt with in Part III, which also discusses some clinico-pharmacological aspects of therapy. Part IV is a review of the drugs currently used for the treatment of stable and unstable angina, and particularly considers some important unresolved issues concerning their use.
The current FDA and EC guidelines for the evaluation of antianginal drugs are briefly discussed in Part V, giving clinical investigators insight into how antianginal drugs are evaluated by regulatory agencies and what is considered as proof of a valid efficacy/tolerability ratio. "Drug Evaluation in Angina Pectoris" aims to assist discerning cardiologists, pharmacologists and advanced students of cardiology, as well as innovative pharmaceutical companies, all of whom need to understand what angina is, how to evaluate treatment, and how to judge the agents used in its treatment.