The very rapid advances in technology have caused a revolution in
Nursing practice in the last ten years. We are now only twelve years
from the first description of permanent cardiac pacing. This is now an
accepted method of treatment throughout the world. Bedside monitoring
with oscilloscopes has passed from being an experimental investigation
to normal ward practice. This rapid invasion has involved technicians
and nursing staff in matters which until comparatively recently were
regarded as the province of the Specialist Doctor. This book is intended
primarily to give an introduction to the subject to nurses and
technicians concerned with Intensive Care techniques. It is hoped it may
also be of interest to Medical Students as an introduction to the
subject and also as a review to those preparing for examinations.
Sheffield, September 1972. David Verel Introduction About one third of
deaths today are due to disease of the heart and circulation. This alone
would justify a special study of them by nurses and doctors. They are of
particular importance to nurses, however, as there is no other group of
diseases where quick informed action by a nurse in an emergency, can
save so many lives. In this book the functions of the heart and
circulation are first described. There follows a brief account of the
diseases of the heart, and finally, intensive coronary care and
intensive post-operative care are dealt with in some detail.