Cardiogenic shock.

Cardiogenic shock is the most common cause of in-hospital mortality for patients who have suffered a myocardial infarction. Mortality exceeds 50% and management is focused on a rapid diagnosis of cardiogenic shock, restoration of coronary blood flow through early revascularization, complication management, and maintenance of end-organ homeostasis. Besides revascularization, inotropes and vasodilators are potent medical therapies to assist the failing heart. Pulmonary arterial catheters are an important adjunctive tool to assess patient hemodynamics, but their use should be limited to select patients in cardiogenic shock.