Cardiovascular Medicine and Surgery Section
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Bringing the ICU to the patient: ECMO transport programs as high-reliability systems
ECMO transport programs represent an evolution toward networked critical care, extending advanced critical care beyond fixed, tertiary care centers.
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Beyond the pump: Clinical and psychosocial dimensions of LVAD therapy
Advanced HFrEF carries high mortality, but LVAD therapy can improve survival, heart function, and quality of life.
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Turning the tide in right ventricular failure: The role of mechanical support
As mechanical circulatory support technologies advance, understanding the unique features of right-sided devices is essential for optimal patient selection.
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New developments on the forefront of intermediate-risk pulmonary embolism
Patients with intermediate-risk pulmonary embolism (IRPE), or those with right ventricular dysfunction without overt hemodynamic instability, represent a heterogenous population with short-term mortality ranging from 2% to 17%.1 While systemic anticoagulation is the mainstay therapy, select individuals may benefit from more immediate reperfusion. Catheter-based therapies (CBT), including thrombus aspiration, fragmentation, or catheter-directed thrombolysis, have seen…
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Empowering ICU physicians in MCS critical care
Intensive care physicians around the nation are pivotal in improving shock-related patient outcomes. At present time, there is still a dearth of available dual-boarded cardiology and intensive care physicians around the country, and advanced heart failure fellowship positions continue to be unfilled in the NRMP match. Most intensive care units (academic and nonacademic) are currently…
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Sepsis-induced cardiomyopathy: Is it time to establish a standard of care?
Sepsis and septic shock still carry high morbidity and mortality in ICU patients despite recent improvements in care. Sepsis-induced cardiomyopathy (SICM), which complicates greater than 10% of sepsis and septic shock cases, carries a worse prognosis and is often underrecognized. Unfortunately, no universal definition of SICM exists, making diagnosis and evaluation of novel therapeutic options…
