The ability to determine whether disease is present or absent—and how that patient should be treated—is the ultimate goal for clinicians who evaluate patients with suspected heart disease. Despite the number of diagnostic tests available, the importance of a careful…
Introduction Mortality for patients with myocardial infarction (MI) remains unacceptably high despite improvements in medical therapy and revascularization. Death, when it occurs, is often caused by cardiac dysfunction, which leads to low cardiac output, hypotension, and end-organ failure ( Figure…
1 Who are “the elderly”? The average US life expectancy is 76 years for men and 81 years for women. Elderly in the context of most clinical guidelines refers to patients age 65 years or older. There is variation arising…