Mesenteric ischemia.

MI remains a highly lethal entity. Improving survival requires an aggressive, multidisciplinary approach. High-risk patients with severe abdominal pain and a paucity of physical findings should be undergo emergent imaging in a search for this disease. Improvements in laboratory tests and advances in imaging techniques may improve the ability to diagnose MI earlier in its course, before irreversible damage has occurred. Many treatment modalities are available and should be tailored to each individual case. By recognizing and preventing ischemia-reperfusion injury,the cycle of protracted complications may be broken. A decrease in the mortality from MI finally is occurring. Early recognition and aggressive treatment finally may allow clinicians to have a marked impact on patient survival.