…of myocardium at risk. Over 48 hours: urgent PCI is still indicated with continuing ischaemia, shock, serious arrhythmia or acute heart failure. Routine opening of…

…messages Two things set the COPD exacerbation apart from many other causes of acute dyspnoea: oxygen must be titrated cautiously and the blood gas determines…

…shock, hypoxia and any other underlying cause immediately. 9. Request ultrasound of the kidneys and urinary tract when a postrenal cause cannot confidently be excluded…

…speech, work of breathing, level of consciousness and PEF improve at the same time. Acute severe asthma is characterised by bronchospasm, mucosal oedema and mucus…

…The standard investigation in acute stroke to identify large vessel occlusion, dissection or other vascular pathology CT perfusion Used with an unclear time of onset…

…is: Continuous acute dizziness with spontaneous nystagmus: consider HINTS plus, but only if the examiner is trained. Brief attacks triggered by the position of the…

…Symptoms Acute chest and/or back pain is the predominant symptom of both IMH and PAU. PAU pain may resemble the abrupt pain of classic…

…Types 2–5 MI have other mechanisms of myocardial ischaemia and necrosis. Unstable angina (UA) represents myocardial ischaemia without demonstrable acute cardiomyocyte injury or necrosis…

Clinical medicine Emergency medicine Definition and pathophysiology Acute limb ischaemia (ALI) is an abrupt reduction in arterial perfusion of an upper or lower limb that…

…by limited cardiopulmonary reserve or other adverse comorbidity. The classification of acute PE comprises four clinically useful groups: High risk PE , also termed massive PE…

…Posterior (posterolateral) acute myocardial infarction (STEMI) The heart is rotated 30° to the left in the thorax. This positions the basal portion of the left…

…of oral morphine per day, and 25 micrograms/hour to approximately 40–50 mg of oral morphine per day. Patches have no place in acute…

…to prevent or treat acute and subacute ventricular arrhythmias. The Singh Vaughan Williams classification fails to clarify that the majority of these agents exert effects…

…that of other forms of acute tubular necrosis, although the complication remains associated with post procedural morbidity and mortality. Pathophysiology The precise mechanism of contrast…

ECG Introduction The traditional classification of acute coronary syndromes (ACS) into ST segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI), non STEMI (NSTEMI), and unstable angina (UA) has…

…a classification of acute coronary syndromes and myocardial infarctions. The reader should study this chart carefully. Figure 1. Flowchart showing the natural course of coronary…

…Symptoms – Patients with acute myocardial infarction may present with typical ischemic chest pain, or with dyspnea, nausea, unexplained weakness, or a combination of these symptoms…

…Hypotension can be counteracted with simultaneous administration of norepinephrine. All patients with severe acute heart failure who receive levosimendan should be monitored invasively (e.g…

…or fully occlusive intraluminal thrombus [5] . ACS Classification The clinical spectrum of Acute Coronary Syndromes encompasses Unstable Angina (UA), Non ST Elevation Myocardial Infarction (NSTEMI)…

…in STE ACS/STEMI. Note that a patient with STEMI may present during any of the phases illustrated in this figure, which is why it…

…pressure in both arms at the first assessment, particularly in chest pain, back pain or suspected acute aortic syndrome. 5. Use the correct cuff size…

…V7, V8 and V9 in patients with high suspicion of posterior acute myocardial infarction (e.g due to reciprocal ST segment depressions in V1, V2…

…haemodynamically unstable patients, evaluation must also consider acute severe mitral regurgitation, mechanical complications, and ischaemia related ventricular failure as potential causes of shock. Patients with…

…combined use of aspirin and an oral P2Y12 receptor inhibitor. It is central to the prevention of platelet mediated coronary thrombosis after acute coronary syndrome…

…factors. Plaque erosion Plaque erosion is increasingly recognized and is present in at least one third of acute coronary syndromes in the cited material. Eroded…

ECG Myocardial ischemia and infarction Use of ECG in acute coronary syndromes & chest pain patients An ECG must be performed on all patients seeking medical…

…in acute myocardial infarction (AMI) is modified by several factors. The most important of these, and their implications, are as follows: The size of the…

…depressions, T wave changes) are typically concealed in the setting of LBBB. A patient with acute STEMI may therefore display a normal LBBB pattern. LBBB…

…et al, Twerenbold et al) Kinetics Troponin T (cTnT) and troponin I (cTnI) increase 2 3 hours after the onset of acute myocardial infarction. The…

Indications Acute myocardial infarction. Unstable coronary artery disease. Stable angina pectoris. Secondary prophylaxis to prevent recurrence of cerebrovascular diseases, such as: Transient ischemic attacks (TIA…

Procedurer In acute circulatory failure it is not the number of cannulae that matters but the flow per unit time . A large bore, short cannula…

…thorough discussion of the electrophysiological principles, ECG changes and clinical implications is provided. The reader should already be familiar with the classification of acute coronary…

…Figure 1. Management of acute bradycardia in the emergency setting. Parameter Assessment A Airway Voice Breath sounds B Breathing Respiratory rate (12–20 / min) Chest…

…and – except the endocardium – it cannot utilize the oxygen from within the ventricular cavity. The location of acute myocardial infarction refers to the area of…

…and because of cost. Evidence in acute coronary syndromes and recent myocardial infarction COLCOT The COLCOT trial enrolled 4745 patients within 30 days of myocardial…

Myocardial ischemia and infarction ECG Definition and Pathophysiology Acute coronary syndromes (ACS) encompass a spectrum of clinical conditions characterized by a recent change in symptoms…

…the effect of interventions and medications, and prognosticate survival. However, exercise stress testing must not be performed within 4 to 6 days after acute myocardial…

…infarction Non ST Elevation Acute Coronary Syndromes (NSTE ACS): Non ST Elevation Myocardial Infarction (NSTEMI) and Unstable Angina (UA) The focus of this chapter is…

…Occurrence of upsloping ST segment depressions with prominent T waves in the majority of the chest leads may indicate an acute occlusion in the LAD…

…at any time after occlusion of the coronary artery. Indeed, ventricular tachycardia and ventricular fibrillation cause the vast majority of all deaths in the acute…

…T wave is deeper than 10 mm. Myocardial ischemia may present with any degree of T wave inversion. Myocardial ischemia may also present with flat…

…often sharp pain that characteristically radiates to the back [5]. 3. Acute Pericarditis Pain Characteristics: The pain is typically pleuritic and tends to worsen when…

…cause of acute chest pain but carries a particularly high mortality when diagnosis is delayed. The typical presentation is sudden onset, severe chest, back or…

Cardiology Critical care Pharmacology & dosing Definition and Pathophysiology In the management of acute heart failure and cardiogenic shock, intravenous vasoactive agents are categorised according to…

…dissection (SCAD) is an acute coronary disorder caused by separation within the coronary arterial wall, usually through formation of an intramural haematoma that compresses the…

…Angina occurring after a recent myocardial infarction. UA belongs to the broader spectrum of acute coronary syndromes, which may present with recent changes in symptoms…

CPR It is commonly stated that approximately 80% of all cardiac arrests are caused by acute or chronic coronary artery disease, with the latter being…

…sex , and genetically influenced effects on the cardiovascular system. Acute exposure produces transient haemodynamic and myocardial effects, whereas sustained heavy consumption is associated with hypertension…

…ACS, AF may be present before the acute event, detected for the first time during its management, or arise during the course of treatment. Even…

…vascular beds. Malignant hypertension represents an extreme form in which acute microvascular injury occurs, classically involving fibrinoid necrosis of small arteries in the kidneys, retina…

…ischemia and infarction Definition and pathophysiology Post infarction pericarditis encompasses two temporally and clinically distinct complications of acute myocardial infarction (AMI): Early infarct associated pericarditis …

…myocardial infarction as the final diagnosis. The underlying process usually involves acute thrombotic obstruction of an epicardial coronary artery. A vulnerable atherosclerotic plaque and thrombogenic…

…is an acute myocardial infarction associated with a working diagnosis of persistent ST segment elevation or an accepted equivalent in the setting of ischaemic symptoms…

…of acute coronary syndromes. The LMCA supplies a large myocardial territory through the left anterior descending (LAD) and left circumflex (LCx) arteries (Figure 1). Acute…

…failure. The rapid advances in the 1970s and 1980s were followed by almost two decades without any major breakthrough in the management of heart failure…

…failure. The rapid advances in the 1970s and 1980s were followed by almost two decades without any major breakthrough in the management of heart failure…

…are not overfilled in acute volume loads. Pericardial Effusion: fluid in the pericardial space Normally, the pericardial sac contains 25 to 50 ml of liquid…

…any of the following: A systolic blood pressure < 90 mmHg caused by the arrhythmia. Ongoing myocardial ischaemia with chest pain and ECG changes. Acute…