Cardiac intensive care is a peculiarity in the United Kingdom. In many hospitals, it is the only single specialty critical care area. We should not be too surprised at this; cardiac disease is common and its frequency has spawned many new and innovative treatments. Changes in the organization of our hospitals may mean more patients with cardiac disease are treated in specialist centers and even fewer seen in general intensive care units, thus reducing the skill base and so comfort of many intensivists in managing these patients. Patients do not just present with heart disease, they also require surgery for other problems and familiarity with cardiac support is essential for all who work in general units.

This is not an in-depth tome, but rather a practical text full of the kind of tricks of the trade that make a skilled cardiac intensivist. One potential problem of a single specialty unit is a tendency to “forget” about the other systems; these are all addressed herein, along with other essential elements such as ethics and the running of a successful unit.

This is a welcome text targeting a multi-disciplinary audience. It will be useful for those approaching an attachment to a cardiac unit as well as for those of us outside who want to update ourselves on the latest treatments available.