All Topics  
Coronary care unit

 

 
   Email Print
   Bookmark   Link
 

 

Coronary care unit
 
 
  Topics Coronary care unit Topic Home

A coronary care unit (CCU) is a hospital ward specialized in the care of patient
Patient

A patient is any person who receives medical attention, care, or Therapy. The person is most often illness or injured and in need of treatment by a physician or other Health care provider, although one who is visiting a physician for a routine check-up may also be viewed as a patient....
s with heart attack
Myocardial infarction

Myocardial infarction , commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when the Blood flow to part of the heart is interrupted. This is most commonly due to occlusion of a coronary artery following the rupture of a Vulnerable plaque, which is an unstable collection of lipids and white blood cells in the wall of an artery....
s, unstable angina
Unstable angina

Unstable angina is a type of angina pectoris that is irregular. It is a type of acute coronary syndrome.It can be difficult to distinguish from non?Q-wave myocardial infarction....
 and (in practice) various other cardiac conditions that require continuous monitoring and treatment.

main feature of coronary care is the availability of telemetry
Telemetry

Telemetry is a technology that allows the remote measurement and reporting of information of interest to the system designer or operator. The word is derived from Greek language roots tele = remote, and metron = measure....
 or the continuous monitoring of the cardiac rhythm by electrocardiography
Electrocardiogram

An electrocardiogram is a recording of the electricity activity of the heart over time produced by an electrocardiograph, usually in a Non-invasive recording via skin electrodes....
. This allows early intervention with medication
Medication

A pharmaceutical drug, also referred to as medicine or medicament, can be loosely defined as any substance intended for use in the diagnosis, cure, mitigation, treatment, or prevention of disease....
, cardioversion
Cardioversion

Synchronized electrical cardioversion is the process by which an abnormally fast heart rate or cardiac arrhythmia is terminated by the delivery of a therapeutic dose of electric current to the heart at a specific moment in the cardiac cycle....
 or defibrillation
Defibrillation

Defibrillation is the definitive treatment for the life-threatening cardiac arrhythmias, ventricular fibrillation and ventricular tachycardia....
, improving the prognosis.






Discussion
Ask a question about 'Coronary care unit'
Start a new discussion about 'Coronary care unit'
Answer questions from other users
Full Discussion Forum



Encyclopedia


A coronary care unit (CCU) is a hospital ward specialized in the care of patient
Patient

A patient is any person who receives medical attention, care, or Therapy. The person is most often illness or injured and in need of treatment by a physician or other Health care provider, although one who is visiting a physician for a routine check-up may also be viewed as a patient....
s with heart attack
Myocardial infarction

Myocardial infarction , commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when the Blood flow to part of the heart is interrupted. This is most commonly due to occlusion of a coronary artery following the rupture of a Vulnerable plaque, which is an unstable collection of lipids and white blood cells in the wall of an artery....
s, unstable angina
Unstable angina

Unstable angina is a type of angina pectoris that is irregular. It is a type of acute coronary syndrome.It can be difficult to distinguish from non?Q-wave myocardial infarction....
 and (in practice) various other cardiac conditions that require continuous monitoring and treatment.

Characteristics

The main feature of coronary care is the availability of telemetry
Telemetry

Telemetry is a technology that allows the remote measurement and reporting of information of interest to the system designer or operator. The word is derived from Greek language roots tele = remote, and metron = measure....
 or the continuous monitoring of the cardiac rhythm by electrocardiography
Electrocardiogram

An electrocardiogram is a recording of the electricity activity of the heart over time produced by an electrocardiograph, usually in a Non-invasive recording via skin electrodes....
. This allows early intervention with medication
Medication

A pharmaceutical drug, also referred to as medicine or medicament, can be loosely defined as any substance intended for use in the diagnosis, cure, mitigation, treatment, or prevention of disease....
, cardioversion
Cardioversion

Synchronized electrical cardioversion is the process by which an abnormally fast heart rate or cardiac arrhythmia is terminated by the delivery of a therapeutic dose of electric current to the heart at a specific moment in the cardiac cycle....
 or defibrillation
Defibrillation

Defibrillation is the definitive treatment for the life-threatening cardiac arrhythmias, ventricular fibrillation and ventricular tachycardia....
, improving the prognosis. As arrhythmias
Cardiac arrhythmia

Cardiac arrhythmia is a term for any of a large and heterogeneous group of conditions in which there is abnormal Electrical conduction system of the heart in the heart....
 are relatively common in this group, patients with myocardial infarction or unstable angina are routinely admitted to the coronary care unit. For other indications, such as atrial fibrillation
Atrial fibrillation

Atrial fibrillation is a cardiac arrhythmia that involves the two upper chambers of the heart. It can often be identified by taking a pulse and observing that the heartbeats don't occur at regular intervals, but a conclusive indication of AF is the absence of P waves on an electrocardiogram ....
, a specific indication is generally necessary, while for others, such as heart block
Heart block

A heart block is a disease in the electrical conduction system of the heart of the heart. This is opposed to coronary artery disease, which is disease of the blood vessels of the heart....
, coronary care unit admission is standard.

Local differences

In the United States, coronary care units are usually subsets of intensive care unit
Intensive Care Unit

An intensive care unit , critical care unit , intensive therapy unit or intensive treatment unit is a specialized department used in many countries' hospitals that provides intensive care medicine....
s (ICU) dedicated to the care of critically ill cardiac patients. These units are usually present in hospitals that routine engage in cardiothoracic surgery. Invasive monitoring such as with pulmonary artery catheter
Pulmonary artery catheter

In medicine pulmonary artery catheterization is the insertion of a catheter into a pulmonary artery. Its purpose is Diagnosis; it is used to detect heart failure or sepsis, monitor therapy, and evaluate the Causality of medication....
s is common, as are supportive modalities such as mechanical ventilation
Mechanical ventilation

In medicine, mechanical ventilation is a method to mechanically assist or replace spontaneous respiration .Mechanical ventilation is typically used after an invasive intubation, a procedure wherein an endotracheal tube or tracheostomy tube is inserted into the airway....
 and intra-aortic balloon pump
Intra-aortic balloon pump

The 'Intra-aortic balloon pump' is a mechanical device that is used to decrease myocardial oxygen demand while at the same time increasing cardiac output....
s (IABP).

Certain hospitals, such as Johns Hopkins , maintain mixed units consisting of both Acute care units for the critically ill, and intermediate care units for patients who are not critical.

Acute coronary care

Acute coronary care units (ACCU), also called "critical coronary care units" (CCCU) is equivalent to intensive care in the level of service provided. Patients with acute myocardial infarction, cardiogenic shock
Cardiogenic shock

Cardiogenic shock is based upon an inadequate circulation of blood due to primary failure of the ventricle s of the heart to function effectively....
, or post-operative "open-heart" patients commonly abide here.

Subacute coronary care

Subacute coronary care units (SCCU), also called Progressive care units (PCU), Intermediate coronary care units (ICCU), or stepdown units, and provide a level of care intermediate to that of the intensive care unit and that of the general medical floor. These units typically serve patients who require cardiac telemetry such as those with unstable angina
Unstable angina

Unstable angina is a type of angina pectoris that is irregular. It is a type of acute coronary syndrome.It can be difficult to distinguish from non?Q-wave myocardial infarction....
.

History

Coronary care units developed in the 1960s when it became clear that close monitoring by specially trained staff, cardiopulmonary resuscitation
Cardiopulmonary resuscitation

Cardiopulmonary resuscitation is an emergency medical procedure for a victim of cardiac arrest or, in some circumstances, respiratory arrest. CPR is performed in hospitals, or in the community by layman or by emergency response professionals....
 and medical measures could reduce the mortality from complications of cardiovascular disease. The first description of a CCU was given in 1961 to the British Thoracic Society
British Thoracic Society

The British Thoracic Society is a specialist medicine society in the United Kingdom in the field of pulmonology.The society was formed in 1982 by the amalgamation of the British Thoracic Association and the Thoracic Society....
, and early CCUs were located in Sydney
Sydney

Sydney is the List of cities in Australia by population in Australia, with a metropolitan area population of approximately 4.34 million . It is the List of Australian capital cities of New South Wales, and was the site of the first British Empire colony in Australia....
, Kansas
Kansas

The State of Kansas is a Midwestern U.S. state in the Central United States of the United States of America, an area often referred to as the United States "Heartland"....
 and Philadelphia. Studies published in 1967 revealed that those observed in a coronary care setting had consistently better outcomes. The first coronary care unit was opened in Kansas
Kansas

The State of Kansas is a Midwestern U.S. state in the Central United States of the United States of America, an area often referred to as the United States "Heartland"....
 by Dr Hugh Day, and he coined the term.