(Circulation. 1999;100:e120.)
© 1999 American Heart Association, Inc.
Circulation Electronic Pages |
Cardiac Intensive Care
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Introduction |
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David L. Brown. 861 pp. Philadelphia, Pa: W.B. Saunders Company, Ltd; 1998. $125.00. ISBN 0-7216-6006-1.
Coronary care units, initially established in the 1960s as separate units for the early detection and treatment of arrhythmias complicating acute myocardial infarction, currently provide the setting for the monitoring and treatment of a wide variety of critical cardiovascular disease states. The expanded role of the cardiac intensive care unit has evolved in concert with rapid advances in diagnostic and therapeutic strategies in the practice of clinical cardiology. Landmark discoveries bettering our understanding of the pathophysiological mechanisms of acute coronary syndromes, congestive heart failure, and supraventricular and ventricular dysrhythmias have been associated with technological advancements, such as the advent of invasive hemodynamic monitoring, intracoronary interventional procedures and devices, and ventricular assist devices. These changes have resulted in clinical cardiology’s evolution into a more proactive and aggressive interventional field. Subsequently, the breadth and scope of care provided to the acutely ill cardiac patient in the cardiac intensive care unit has markedly expanded.
The textbook, Cardiac Intensive Care, edited by David L. Brown, MD, provides a timely and practical overview of the management of the critical cardiac patient over a broad range of topics. The text, well-written and organized, begins by providing a discussion of the history and evolution of the cardiac intensive care unit, as well as some of the nursing, ethical, and economic issues associated with maintaining such a complex unit.
The second section, "Scientific Foundation of Cardiac Intensive
Care," provides an excellent review