Does active intervention for shock reduce mortality in patients with acute myocardial infarction complicated by shock?
Active intervention for cardiogenic shock in the setting of acute myocardial infarction may significantly reduce mortality.
Shock complicating acute myocardial infarction contributes materially to the over-all mortality. The wisdom of combating the shock has been a matter of dispute, many clinicians holding that the fall in blood pressure has the salutary effect of reducing the work of an acutely injured heart. This report deals with a four-year experience in active intervention for shock. The data suggest that timely intervention for shock is frequently life-saving, and may be instrumental in halving themortality of the sickest patients.
Gootnick et al. (Wed,) studied this question.