Anesthesia: in cardiac emergencies

Introduction

• Successful outcomes depend upon:
  • Prompt recognition of developing problems.
  • Rapid diagnosis of the underlying cause.
  • Taking appropriate measures to correct the problem quickly.
  • Monitoring of patient during anesthesia to avert accidents during and after anesthesia.
• Main requirements during anesthesia:
  • Adequate delivery of oxygen to tissues (3-5 ml/kg/min).
  • Removal of waste products from tissues.
  • Failure to achieve the above can result in serious complications particularly tissue hypoxia and cell death.
  • Main requirement of the circulation is to deliver an adequate supply of well oxygenated blood to the tissues. Adequate perfusion of tissue is as important as oxygenation of the blood.
  • Mean blood pressure should be maintained above 70 mmHg.

Sources

Publications

Refereed papers

• Recent references from PubMed.
• Clutton E (1994) Management of perioperative cardiac arrest in companion animal, part 2. In PracticeJan , 3-10. (Useful up-to-date summary; good diagrams.)
• Clutton E (1993) Management of perioperative cardiac arrest in companion animal, part 1. In PracticeNov , 267-277. (Useful up-to-date summary; good diagrams.)
• Clarke K W & Hall L W (1990) A survey of anaesthesia in small animal practice - AVA/BSAVA report. J Vet Anaesth 17 , 4-10.
• Robello C D & Crowe D T (1989) Cardiopulmonary resuscitation - current recommendations. Vet Clin North Am 19 (6), 1127-1149.

Other sources of information

• Hall L W & Taylor P M (1994) Eds Anesthesia of the Cat. London: Bailliere Tindall. pp249-266, 270-273, 274-309. ISBN 0 7020 1665 9
• Bedford P G C (1991) Small Animal Anesthesia, The Increased Risk Patient. London: Bailliere Tindall. p92- 132. ISBN 0 7020 1501 6.
• Richards D L S (1989) Anesthetic accidents and emergencies. In Manual of Anesthesia for Small Animal Practice. Ed: A D R Hilbery. Cheltenham: British Small Animal Veterinary Association. pp95-99. ISBN 0 905214 09 9.
• Hall L W (1982) Relaxant drugs in small animal anesthesia. In Proceedings of the Association of Veterinary Anesthetists of Great Britain and Ireland Supplement to 10 , pp144-155.