Chronic Shock after Myocardial Infarction, Its Mechanisms and Management

Abstract

A study of a patient with shock for sixteen days occurring after myocardial infarction is presented. The mechanisms responsible for shock in myocardial infarction are reviewed. Neither a fall in cardiac output nor inadequate rise in peripheral resistance seemed sufficient to account for the prolonged hypotension. The response to transfusion was dramatic and it was thought that an increase in total blood volume was responsible for the change in the patient''s condition. It is concluded that the role played by blood volume in chronic cardiogenic shock merits further study.