Some 25 years ago, the coronary care unit concentrated high technology and the acutely ill patients who might benefit from it in a single, recognizable space. Since then, that space and its technical equipment have changed, as has part of its population. Acute ischemia, silent and manifest, occurs within and outside of the coronary care unit as pain, arrhythmia, or pump failure. Its detection and treatment require the utilization of many diagnostic techniques and skills, not the least of which is two-dimensional Doppler echocardio graphy, which is gaining importance. Future developments, in...
Some 25 years ago, the coronary care unit concentrated high technology and the acutely ill patients who might benefit from it in a single, recognizabl...