A shift in coronary care unit patient population: Ten year experience from an urban tertiary care center

Document Type

Letter to the Editor

Publication Date

10-2-2015

Journal

Acute Cardiac Care

Volume

17

Issue

4

DOI

10.1080/17482941.2016.1203160

Keywords

acute coronary syndrome; admission trends; Coronary care unit; valvular heart disease

Abstract

© 2016 Taylor and Francis. The need for cardiovascular expertise in the treatment of advanced heart failure (AHF), malignant arrhythmias, and structural heart disease has shifted the role of the CCU to a more diverse and medically complex patient population. This study's purpose was to analyze the temporal trends in the principal diagnosis leading to admission to the CCU in a tertiary referral hospital. Over the last 15 years, the CCU has evolved from a medical unit strictly focusing on the care of patients with ACS to an advanced cardiac intensive care unit. The trends observed at our center provide further evidence that today's CCU contains a broader, more complex, critically-ill patient population.

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