This book describes the field of osteocardiology, an exciting and new sub-discipline within cardiovascular science, which will become the cornerstone for defining the timing and treatment of cardiovascular calcification in the future. With the advent of large cohort databases and experimental mechanistic studies, research has elucidated evidence confirming that traditional cardiovascular risk factors are responsible for the development of atherosclerotic calcification and identified the critical elements of atherosclerosis, including foam cell formation, vascular smooth muscle cell proliferation and extracellular matrix synthesis, which over time forms bone in the heart.

Osteocardiology: Cardiac Bone Formation is a practical overview of bone formation in the heart and is destined to become the cornerstone for education of medical students, residents, fellows, graduate students, physician scientists and scientists, for future research and ongoing development in medical therapies to slow or halt the progression of bone formation in the heart.

Nalini M. Rajamannan is a US citizen, born in Minnesota. She is a cardiologist at Most Sacred Heart of Jesus Cardiology, Sheboygan, WI, and Chicago, IL, and a Visiting Scientist at the Mayo Clinic, since 2000.

She graduated from the University of Notre Dame, South Bend, IN and Mayo Medical School and Mayo Graduate School, Rochester, MN for all of her medical training. She worked as an Academic Cardiologist at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine from 2000-2011. She is the chair of the recently published position statement from the NHLBI, National Institute of Health working group on Calcific Aortic Valve Disease. Dr. Rajamannan has published an International Clinical trial on the effects of statins in slowing the progression of aortic valve disease in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology with her colleagues from Spain and Portugal.

Osteocardiology: Risk Factors.- Osteocardiology: Coronary Artery Calcification.- Osteocardiology: Calcific Aortic Valve Disease.- Osteocardiology: Calcific Aortic Disease.- Osteocardiology: Endochondral Bone Formation.- Osteocardiology: The Atherosclerotic Bone Paradox.- Osteocardiology: Cellular Origins of Cardiac Calcification.- Osteocardiology: LDL-Density-Gene Theory.- Osteocardiology: The LDL-Density-Mechanostat Theory.- Osteocardiology: The Go/No Go Theory For Clinical Trials.