Foreword

Article Outline

• Copyright

There has been a remarkable reduction in the incidence of cardiogenic shock due to acute myocardial infarction in patients admitted to the hospital. Up until the early 1970s we would see up to 2 to 3 such cases each week. Then, we progressively saw fewer cases of cardiogenic shock. This coincided with widespread performance of coronary artery bypass graft surgery and, over the subsequent 30 years, cardiogenic shock has become decidedly uncommon. This also coincided with performance of percutaneous coronary interventions and also the availability of modern pharmacologic therapy.

Nevertheless, cardiogenic shock still occurs. In this issue, Professor Simoons and his group provide an excellent, authoritative, and up-to-date review that includes the pathophysiology, pharmacologic treatment, mechanical support, and the essential and vital role of myocardial revascularization. They also discuss novel approaches to improve perfusion. The Editorial Board and I are grateful to the group from Rotterdam, the Netherlands led by Professor Simoons for this superb contribution.