Chesley's Hypertensive Disorders in Pregnancy 3e

Preeclampsia remains a lethal enigma of pregnancy. Encompassing more than just hypertension, it can include abnormalities of platelet behavior and clotting mechanisms and of endothelial, hepatic, and renal function. The first edition of Leon Chesley's Hypertensive Disorders in Pregnancy (1978) was a scholarly monograph, written by a scientist with a passionate interest in the condition. Since then, the number of maternal deaths from preeclampsia and eclampsia per million pregnancies has been halved in developed countries. Nevertheless, preeclampsia, together with eclampsia, remains one of the two most frequently cited causes of maternal death in the West. The second edition is a multiauthored book. The three editors are researchers who have made a particular effort to achieve a degree of homogeneity in the presentation. The contents are divided into six main sections, each overseen by one of the three editors. Each chapter is also coauthored by one of the editors, which has resulted in coherence in the writing among chapters. Most of the chapters begin with a paragraph about how the topic was considered by Chesley that emphasizes the forward-looking and comprehensive nature of his interest... This book is an authoritative compilation of knowledge in the area, with many references from the second half of the 1990s. It should certainly be in the library of every academic department.