TY - JOUR
T1 - Myocardial salvage
T2 - Pharmacologic treatment
AU - Sanders, A. B.
PY - 1988
Y1 - 1988
N2 - We have attempted to review the role of pharmacologic agents in the treatment of patients with acute myocardial infarction for the purposes of limiting infarct size. At this time, the beta-blocking agents and nitroglycerin have been the most extensively studied in clinical trials and should be part of our overall pharmacologic approach to patients with acute myocardial infarction. Treatment, however, needs to be individualized, depending on the resources available with one's hospital and community. The early treatment of patients with acute myocardial infarction is undergoing a revolution. Whereas a decade ago we were satisfied with simply monitoring patients for malignant arrhythmias, now we are aggressively attempting to limit infarct size and reperfuse myocardium. In all these proposed treatments for myocardial salvage, time is a crucial element. Therefore, emergency physicians and paramedics become a vital link to begin appropriate treatment leading to myocardial salvage and reperfusion. We must begin to think of all patients with symptoms of acute myocardial infarction as candidates for aggressive attempts at myocardial salvage. These attempts will only take place with well-coordinated, multidiscipline efforts involving cardiologists, cardiothoracic surgeons, emergency physicians, paramedics, and critical care teams. Our challenge over the next few years will be to develop efficient systems so that all patients with acute myocardial infarction can receive optimal care.
AB - We have attempted to review the role of pharmacologic agents in the treatment of patients with acute myocardial infarction for the purposes of limiting infarct size. At this time, the beta-blocking agents and nitroglycerin have been the most extensively studied in clinical trials and should be part of our overall pharmacologic approach to patients with acute myocardial infarction. Treatment, however, needs to be individualized, depending on the resources available with one's hospital and community. The early treatment of patients with acute myocardial infarction is undergoing a revolution. Whereas a decade ago we were satisfied with simply monitoring patients for malignant arrhythmias, now we are aggressively attempting to limit infarct size and reperfuse myocardium. In all these proposed treatments for myocardial salvage, time is a crucial element. Therefore, emergency physicians and paramedics become a vital link to begin appropriate treatment leading to myocardial salvage and reperfusion. We must begin to think of all patients with symptoms of acute myocardial infarction as candidates for aggressive attempts at myocardial salvage. These attempts will only take place with well-coordinated, multidiscipline efforts involving cardiologists, cardiothoracic surgeons, emergency physicians, paramedics, and critical care teams. Our challenge over the next few years will be to develop efficient systems so that all patients with acute myocardial infarction can receive optimal care.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=0023924661&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=0023924661&partnerID=8YFLogxK
M3 - Review article
C2 - 2894982
AN - SCOPUS:0023924661
SN - 0733-8627
VL - 6
SP - 361
EP - 372
JO - Emergency medicine clinics of North America
JF - Emergency medicine clinics of North America
IS - 2
ER -