Cardiac Emergencies: Decision-Making in the First Hour, An Issue of Emergency Medicine Clinics of North America

In this issue of Emergency Medicine Clinics, guest editors Drs. Ali Farzad and Haney Mallemat bring their considerable expertise to the topic of Cardiac Emergencies: Decision-Making in the First Hour. Cardiovascular disease remains the leading cause of death worldwide, and it’s seen first most often in the emergency department. Decisions made in the first hour-whether to activate the cath lab, when to start vasoactives, whether to escalate to mechanical support, whether a patient can safely go home-determine mortality, myocardial salvage, neurologic outcome, and downstream resource use more than almost anything that happens later in the hospital course. In this issue, top experts explore key issues that surround this rapidly changing area of emergency care.