Key Questions in Cardiac Surgery will systematically cover all the main topics involved in the current practice of a cardiac surgeon. It will incorporate current guidelines for practice (such as from the American Heart Association and European Society of Cardiology) and up-to-date information based on current literature. All the chapters have been written by cardiac surgeons who have recently undertaken their Cardiothoracic Board / Specialty Exit examinations and reviewed by a cardiothoracic examiner of the Royal College of Surgeons of England. Each chapter will be structured to include aetiology, pathophysiology, clinical features, indications for surgery, peri-operative management, surgical options and postoperative care. Possible complications will be discussed and the results of current practice presented. Importantly there will be a section on basic sciences related to the practising cardiac surgeon and a further section on cardiac investigations with many images illustrating the variety of pathologies. Each chapter will also contain important references for further reading and greater depth of knowledge. The data and body of knowledge presented in this book is strictly evidence-based and is relevant to all cardiac surgical trainees, at any stage of their training programme. It will provide interns, residents and specialist registrars the necessary information to carry out their daily duties. Adult cardiologists and cardiothoracic intensive care unit specialists will also find the book useful in terms of the indications and surgical management of these patients, as they are integral to the cardiac surgical process. Another important group is the nursing staff, physiotherapists and other professions allied to medicine, both surgical and cardiological, working with patients with adult cardiac disease either pre-operatively or postoperatively, as it will help to give a detailed understanding of the principles surrounding adult

Contents

Chapter 1 Cardiac anatomy
Chapter 2 Cardiac physiology
Chapter 3 Cardiac pharmacology
Chapter 4 Electrocardiography
Chapter 5 Echocardiography
Chapter 6 Cardiac catheterisation
Chapter 7 Radiological imaging
Chapter 8 Cardiopulmonary bypass
Chapter 9 Cardiopulmonary bypass scenarios
Chapter 10 Adjuncts to cardiopulmonary bypass
Chapter 11 Myocardial protection
Chapter 12 Aortic valve disease
Chapter 13 Mitral valve disease
Chapter 14 Tricuspid valve disease
Chapter 15 Infective endocarditis
Chapter 16 Thoracic aortic disease
Chapter 17 Coronary artery disease
Chapter 18 Heart failure
Chapter 19 Arrhythmia surgery
Chapter 20 Pericardial disease,, cardiac tumours and cardiac trauma
Chapter 21 Cardiac anaesthesia and intensive care management
Appendix I Transoesophageal echocardiographic views
Appendix II Transthoracic echocardiographic views
Appendix III Normal echocardiographic values
Appendix TV Standard coronary angiographic views
Appendix V Normal arterial blood gas values
Appendix VI Normal cardiac physiological values
Appendix VII AHA guidelines for quantifying the severity of valvular disease
Appendix VIII EuroSCORE