This issue of Critical Care Nursing Clinics, Guest Edited by Bobbi Leeper, MN, RN, CNS M-S, CCRN, at Baylor University Medical Center, provides review of Cardiac topics for the practicing nurse. Article topics include: Spectrum of Acute Coronary Syndromes; Mechanical Complications of AMI; Glucose Control in the Cardiovascular Patient; Pulmonary Hypertension; Pulmonary Problems in the Patient with Cardiovascular Disease; Stroke Coronary Artery Bypass Surgery; Surgery on Thoracic Aorta; Heart Valve Surgery; Complications of Cardiac Surgery; Electrolyte Disorders in the Cardiac Patient; and Cardiogenic Shock.

This issue of Critical Care Nursing Clinics, Guest Edited by Bobbi Leeper, MN, RN, CNS M-S, CCRN, at Baylor University Medical Center, provides review of Cardiac topics for the practicing nurse. Article topics include: Spectrum of Acute Coronary Syndromes; Mechanical Complications of AMI; Glucose Control in the Cardiovascular Patient; Pulmonary Hypertension; Pulmonary Problems in the Patient with Cardiovascular Disease; Stroke Coronary Artery Bypass Surgery; Surgery on Thoracic Aorta; Heart Valve Surgery; Complications of Cardiac Surgery; Electrolyte Disorders in the Cardiac Patient; and Cardiogenic Shock.

Heart failure is the only cardiovascular disease that is increasing. The impact on the critical care environment and the health care system, as a whole, is significant from both a cost and burden to the system perspective. There are 6.5 million hospital days a year and nearly $40 billion dollars in yearly health care costs attributed to heart failure in the United States. There are more Medicare monies spent for diagnosing and treating heart failure than any other Diagnosis Related Group. There is a 24% hospital re-admission rate for this diagnosis which leads to financial implications for health care systems. The human cost is also significant. Less than half of Americans diagnosed with heart failure survive greater than 5 years. The ongoing health care needs and cost of this chronic disease takes a significant toll on patients’ finances, time and quality of life. Over $2.9 billion dollars is spent annually on the pharmaceutical management of heart failure in the United States. This diagnosis is the leading cause of hospitalization for patients who are 65 years of age and older. Few health care providers in the critical care environment are not affected by heart failure on a routine basis. Caring for these patients and their families is both a challenging and yet a rewarding experience. This edition will provide critical care nurses with a comprehensive heart failure review which is essential in caring for this challenging population given the dynamic health and critical care environments.

In this issue of Critical Care Nursing Clinics, Guest Editor Justin Dilibero brings his considerable expertise to the topic of resuscitation. Top experts in the field cover key topics such as trauma, sepsis, burns, pediatrics, cardiac arrest, and more. - Provides in-depth, clinical reviews on resuscitation for critical care nurses, providing actionable insights for clinical practice. - Presents the latest information on this timely, focused topic under the leadership of experienced editors in the field; Authors synthesize and distill the latest research and practice guidelines to create these timely topic-based reviews. - Contains 12 relevant, practice-oriented topics including improving resuscitation outcomes in severe traumatic brain injury; targeted temperature management after cardiac arrest; family presence and support during resuscitation; the role of the tele-ICU; and more.

In this issue, guest editors bring their considerable expertise to this important topic.

With collaboration of Dr. Jan Foster, Consulting Editor, Drs. Landry and Fowler has created a current clinical look at nursing interventions for cardiovascular disease. They have invited authors from top institutions to contribute reviews on the following topics: Evidence-Based Strategies for Late Stages of Heart Failure; Cardiovascular Risk Reduction: A Pharmacotherapeutic Update for Antiplatelet Medications; Comprehensive Nursing Management for Cardiac Valvular Dysfunction; Recovery Management After Cardiothoracic Surgery: Nursing Priorities; Cardiovascular Disease Management in Minority Women: Special Considerations; STEMI and NSTEMI: Medical and Surgical Interventions; Nursing Management for Patients Post-Operative Cardiac Device Insertion & Minimally Invasive Procedures; Acute and Chronic Nursing Management of Atrial Fibrillation; Hospital Discharge Teaching for Patients with Peripheral Vascular Disease; Acute and Chronic Hypertension: Advanced Nursing Management; and Culinary Medicine: Patient Education for Therapeutic Lifestyle Changes. Readers will come away with the clinical updates they need to improve outcomes in cardiovascular patients.

In consultation with Consulting Editor, Dr. Jan Foster, Dr. Brian Boling has put together a state-of the-art issue of the Critical Care Nursing Clinics devoted to Cardiothoracic Surgical Critical Care. Clinical review articles are specifically devoted to the following: Fast Track Cardiac Surgery; Options for Minimally Invasive Valvular Surgery; Surgical Interventions for the Treatment of Advanced Heart Failure; Lung Transplantation; Surgical Treatment of Lung Cancer; Post-Operative Management of Tetralogy of Fallot; Advanced Hemodynamic Monitoring in Cardiothoracic Surgery; Vasoactive Infusions in Cardiothoracic Surgery; Common Post Cardiothoracic Surgery Arrhythmias; Pain Control in the Cardiothoracic Surgery Patient; Renal Complications of Cardiothoracic Surgery; The Role of ECMO in Post Cardiotomy Shock; Resuscitation of Patients Who Arrest After Cardiac Surgery; and End of Life Care in Cardiothoracic Surgery. Readers will come away with the latest information they need to improve improves of cardiothoracic surgical patients.

A cardiac dysrhythmia is a disturbance in the cardiac rhythm which can be normal (e.g., sinus arrhythmia) or instantly lethal (e.g., sustained ventricular tachycardia). This issue of Critical Care Nursing Clinics of North America will provide state of the art diagnostic and treatment information for cardiac dysrhythmias as well as addressing how to achieve the most accurate diagnostic approach to interpreting an electrocardiogram, which is omnipresent in critical care and of critical importance in diagnosing arrhythmias. Articles in this issue are devoted to: The Normal Cardiac Conduction System; The Normal Electrocardiogram: Resting 12-lead and Continuous Cardiac Rhythm Strips; Premature Beats; Paroxysmal Supraventricular Tachycardia, Including the Special Type Called Wolff-Parkinson-White; Atrial Fibrillation, The Most Common Type of Supraventricular Arrhythmia; Ventricular Tachycardia and Its Disorganized Counterpart, Ventricular Fibrillation; Brady-Dysrhythmias, When Heart Rate Slows Myocardial Ischemia & Infarction and their Relationship to Dysrhythmias; Pharmacologically Induced Dysrhythmias; and Implantable Cardiac Devices and their Role in Dysrhythmias Management.

In this issue of Critical Care Clinics, guest editors Drs. Steven Hollenberg and José L. Diaz-Gomez bring their considerable expertise to the topic of Cardiovascular Intensive Care. Top experts cover key topics such as hemodynamic monitoring in the cardiac ICU; the role of ultrasound in the cardiac ICU; cardiogenic shock; management of patients after cardiac arrest; temporary mechanical circulatory support; and more. - Contains 16 relevant, practice-oriented topics including the changing epidemiology of the cardiac intensive care unit; diagnosis and management of LVAD emergencies; design and execution of clinical trials in the CICU; end-of life issues in patients with mechanical circulatory support; and more. - Provides in-depth clinical reviews on cardiovascular intensive care, offering actionable insights for clinical practice.Presents the latest information on this timely, focused topic under the leadership of experienced editors in the field. Authors synthesize and distill the latest research and practice guidelines to create clinically significant, topic-based reviews.

The Guest Editors have assembled expert authors to contribute current reviews devoted to critical care in pediatrics. The articles are devoted to Simulation and Impact on Code Sepsis; Cardiac Rapid Response Team/Modified Cardiac PEWS Development; Impact on Cardiopulmonary Arrest Events on Inpatient Cardiac Unit; Promoting Safety in Post-Tracheostomy Placement Patients in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit Through Protocol; Innovation in Hospital-Acquired Pressure Ulcers Prevention in Neonatal Post-Cardiac Surgery Patients; Utilizing an Interactive Patient Care System in an Acute Care Pediatric Hospital Setting to Improve Patient Outcomes; Advances in Pediatric Pulmonary Artery Hypertension; and Creating a Safety Program in a Pediatric Intensive Care Unit or Assessing Pain in the Pediatric Intensive Care Patients to name a few. Readers will come away with information that is actionable in the pediatric ICU.