Left Ventricular Dysfunction in Critically Ill Patients

Left ventricular dysfunction is common in the critically ill. A number of conditions can cause left ventricular dysfunction including myocardial infarction, septic cardiomyopathy, post resuscitation syndrome, takotsubo syndrome etc. A number of studies have assessed cardiac dysfunction in specific conditions (e.g. sepsis, cardiac arrest) but only a few studies have assessed cardiac dysfunction in a general ICU-population. The study will focus on diagnostics of the different types of cardiomyopathy and differentiating between ischemic and non-ischemic left ventricular dysfunction in a general ICU population. The aim of this study is to assess the incidence and prognosis of the different types of left ventricular dysfunction in critically ill patients. Our hypothesis is that left ventricular dysfunction is common in the critically ill and is associated with an increased risk of short-term death.