The Surgical Treatment of Acute Myocardial Ischemia

In this monograph, Dr. Cohn has provided us with an overview of a most important subject, acute myocardial ischemia. The book is divided into four sections. The first section, entitled "Pathophysiology of Myocardial Ischemia," presents a brief résumé of the biochemical, morphologic, and physiologic consequences of acute myocardial ischemia. Although this section does not have a direct bearing on surgical treatment, the thoracic surgeon should have a working knowledge of the disease process in order to effect proper therapy and interpret results. The second chapter is a discussion of Dr. Cohn's current surgical techniques for emergency coronary revascularization, with a view toward alternate techniques. The next section deals with the treatment of preinfarctional angina, first from the medical viewpoint then from a surgical aspect. The final section deals with the surgical treatment of acute myocardial infarction that concerns both emergency coronary artery bypass and the resection of infarcted areas. It