Vasopressor Therapy in Cardiac Surgery-An Experts' Consensus Statement.

Hemodynamic conditions with reduced systemic vascular resistance commonly are observed in patients undergoing cardiac surgery and may range from moderate reductions in vascular tone, as a side effect of general anesthetics, to a profound vasodilatory syndrome, often referred to as vasoplegic shock. Therapy with vasopressors is an important pillar in the treatment of these conditions. There is limited guidance on the appropriate choice of vasopressors to restore and optimize systemic vascular tone in patients undergoing cardiac surgery.

Attitudes of healthcare professionals involved in cardiology practice towards key points of contemporary guidelines on resuscitation.

Hellenic J Cardiol. 2014; 55: 378-385. At the request of the authors, the name of the second author of this Original Research article has been changed from Athanasios Patialakas to Athanasios Patialiakas.

Attitudes of healthcare professionals involved in cardiology practice towards key points of contemporary guidelines on resuscitation.

Introduction: Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) is not always executed in compliance with contemporary guidelines and the quality of CPR may differ among hospitals within the same country or among categories of healthcare providers and medical specialties. The aim of this study was to assess attitudes of cardiology healthcare professionals towards CPR guidelines.

Methods: An anonymous questionnaire was posted online during 2009.

B-type natriuretic peptide blood levels identify patients with non-ST elevation acute coronary syndromes at high risk for complications during intravenous beta-blocker infusion.

Background: We hypothesized that measurement of B-type natriuretic peptide could identify patients with non-ST elevation acute coronary syndromes at high risk for complications during beta-blocker (esmolol) infusion.

Methods: We reviewed the records of 340 consecutive patients admitted with a non-ST elevation acute coronary syndrome. Seventy three (47 males, aged 62 ± 14 years) received esmolol up to a maximum dose of 300 μg/ kg/min until the symptoms were relieved or an adverse event occurred.