Cardiovascular Emergencies

Abstract

This chapter helps the critical care nurses to understand anatomy of the pericardium and heart. It also discusses cardiac action potential generation, the electrical events during a given heartbeat and the cardiac cycle. The mechanical events of the cardiac cycle begin when blood returns to the right and left atrium from the systemic and pulmonary circulation, respectively. Blood begins to accumulate in the atria, causing atrial pressure to increase until it exceeds the pressure within the ventricles. Arterial blood pressure is the approximate product of two different components: systemic vascular resistance (SVR) and cardiac output (CO). CO is of critical importance because it is also a specific component of how oxygen is delivered to tissue. The chapter then describes the clinical signs observed in heart failure and the emergency treatment methods of heart failure. It further discusses specific cardiac emergencies and their management approaches.