Dramatic advances during the past several decades in diagnosing, monitoring, and treating patients with acute myocardial infarction (MI) have decreased hospital mortality rates by 50%. The organization of coronary care units in the 1960s to treat lethal arrhythmias and the…
Acute myocardial infarction (MI) remains a major cause of death and disability worldwide. While advances in primary reperfusion therapy have resulted in significant reductions in morbidity and mortality among patients with acute MI, adjunctive pharmacologic therapies continue to play a…
Introduction Historical Perspective Thrombosis was implicated as the cause of acute myocardial infarction (MI) almost a century ago. However, the pathophysiology remained obscure and, as recently as 44 years ago, many investigators believed that thrombosis was a secondary event. Chazov…
Introduction The term electrocardiogram was first coined by Einthoven at the Dutch Medical Meeting of 1893. In 1901, he successfully developed a new string galvanometer with very high sensitivity, which he used in his electrocardiograph. His device weighed 600 pounds…
Myocardial infarction (MI) describes the process of myocardial cell death caused by ischemia or the imbalance between myocardial oxygen supply via the coronary arteries and demand. In the United States each year, an estimated 1.1 million people experience an acute…
Overview and Definitions Coagulation is the clotting of blood or plasma. Hemostasis is the process by which bleeding is stopped and is the first component of the host response to injury. Its product is a hemostatic plug or hemostatic clot.…
The acute coronary syndromes (unstable angina, myocardial infarction [MI], sudden cardiac death) are a major cause of morbidity and mortality in developed countries. MI alone is the major cause of death in most Western countries. The rapidly increasing prevalence in…
A clear understanding of the physiologic control of coronary blood flow is essential to considering and treating the underlying pathophysiology in patients who are acutely ill with an acute myocardial infarction (MI) in a cardiac intensive care unit (CICU) or…
The cardiovascular system includes the four-chambered heart, arteries, veins, and lymphatics. Pulsatile arterial flow supplies tissues with oxygen and metabolic substrates, and nonpulsatile venous flow removes carbon dioxide and other metabolic products. The lymphatics ensure conservation of volume at the…
The cardiovascular system exists primarily to transport oxygen and nutrients to the various body tissues and to transport carbon dioxide and other waste products from the tissues to the lungs, kidneys, or liver for disposal. It is a component of…