Principles of Critical Care > Part III. Cardiovascular Disorders > Chapter 22. Ventricular Dysfunction in Critical Illness Keith R. Walley

Key Points

"This chapter reviews the etiology and management of circulatory disturbances arising in critically ill patients whose primary cause for ventricular dysfunction is more related to complications of other multisystem organ failures without diminishing the possibility that occult ischemic heart disease (see Chap. 25) might be unmasked by the stress imposed by multisystem organ failure or its diverse treatments. I emphasize how critical illness disturbs ventricular function and the systemic factors governing venous return and refer the reader to Chap. 25 for the detailed diagnosis and management of ischemic heart disease. To avoid redundancy, I refer liberally to other chapters in this book that discuss mechanisms for ventricular dysfunction in the context of other diseases (see Chaps. 20, 21, 26, 28, and 29)...."