A coronary care unit (CCU) is a hospital ward specialised in the care of patients with heart attacks, unstable angina and (in practice) various other cardiac conditions that require continuous monitoring and treatment. In semantics, the patient is the passive part of a process. ... A myocardial infarction occurs when an atherosclerotic plaque slowly builds up in the inner lining of a coronary artery and then suddenly ruptures, totally occluding the artery and preventing blood flow downstream. ... angina tonsillaris see tonsillitis. ...

Characteristics

The main feature of coronary care is the availability of telemetry or the continuous monitoring of the cardiac rhythm by electrocardiography. This allows early intervention with medication, cardioversion or defibrillation, improving the prognosis. As arrhythmias are relatively common in this group, patients with myocardial infarction or unstable angina are routinely admitted to the coronary care unit. For other indications, such as atrial fibrillation, a specific indication is generally necessary, while for others, such as heart block, coronary care unit admission is standard. Telemetry is a technology which allows the remote measurement and reporting of information of interest to the system designer or operator. ... Lead II An electrocardiogram (ECG or EKG, abbreviated from the German Elektrokardiogramm) is a graphic produced by an electrocardiograph, which records the electrical voltage in the heart in the form of a continuous strip graph. ... A medication is a licenced drug taken to cure or reduce symptoms of an illness or medical condition. ... Through electricity or drug therapy, cardioversion converts heart arrhythmias to normal rhythms. ... Typical view of the defibrillator operator. ... Cardiac arrhythmia is a group of conditions in which the muscle contraction of the heart is irregular or is faster or slower than normal. ... Atrial fibrillation (AF or afib) is a cardiac arrhythmia (an abnormality of heart rate or rhythm) originating in the atria. ... A heart block denotes a disease in the electrical system of the heart. ...

Local differences

In the United States, coronary care units are usually subsets of intensive care units (ICU) dedicated to the care of critically ill cardiac patients. These units are usually present in hospitals that routine engage in cardiothoracic surgery. Invasive monitoring such as with pulmonary artery catheters is common, as are supportive modalities such as mechanical ventilation and intra-aortic balloon pumps (IABP). Intensive care medicine or critical care medicine is concerned with providing greater than ordinary medical care and observation to people in a critical or unstable condition. ... In medicine or biomedical engineering, pulmonary artery catheterization is the insertion of a catheter into a pulmonary artery. ... ventilation balloon In medicine, mechanical ventilation is a method to assist or replace spontaneous breathing. ...

Certain hospitals, such as Johns Hopkins [1], maintain mixed units consisting of both Acute care units for the critically ill, and intermediate care units for patients who are not critical.

Acute coronary care

Acute coronary care units (ACCU), also called "critical coronary care units" (CCCU) is equivalent to intensive care in the level of service provided. Patients with acute myocardial infarction, cardiogenic shock, or post-operative "open-heart" patients commonly abide here. Cardiogenic shock results from the inability of the heart to pump blood through the body. ...

Subacute coronary care

Subacute coronary care units (SCCU), also called Progressive care units (PCU), Intermediate coronary care units (ICCU), or stepdown units, and provide a level of care intermediate to that of the intensive care unit and that of the general medical floor. These units typically serve patients who require cardiac telemetry such as those with unstable angina. This page meets Wikipedias criteria for speedy deletion. ...

History

Coronary care units developed in the 1960s when it became clear that close monitoring by specially trained staff, cardiopulmonary resuscitation and medical measures could reduce the mortality from complications of cardiovascular disease. The first description of a CCU was given in 1961 to the British Thoracic Society, and early CCUs were located in Sydney, Kansas and Philadelphia. Studies published in 1967 revealed that those observed in a coronary care setting had consistently better outcomes (Mehta & Khan 2002). The 1960s decade refers to the years from 1960 to 1969, inclusive. ... Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), is emergency first aid for an unconscious person on whom breathing and pulse cannot be detected. ... Sydney, the Emerald City or the Harbour City, is the state capital and most populous city of the Australian state of New South Wales, as well as Australias largest and oldest city (founded in 1788). ... Official language(s) None Capital Topeka Largest city Wichita Area  - Total  - Width  - Length  - % water  - Latitude  - Longitude Ranked 15th 82,277 mi²; 213,096 km² 211 mi; 340 km 400 mi; 645 km 0. ... Philadelphia is a village located in Jefferson County, New York. ...

Reference

• Mehta NJ, Khan IA. Cardiology's 10 greatest discoveries of the 20th century. Tex Heart Inst J 2002;29:164-71. PMID 12224718.