Free Download: Myocardial Infarction Cheat Cards
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Ten years ago, my first job was in cardiac medical intensive care. Our typical patients consisted of cardiac arrest patients requiring a hypothermia protocol, post-PCI (percutaneous coronary intervention) patients, heart failure patients, and many more. I worked in a university hospital environment and it was extremely busy and emotional, as around 50% of my patients died.
It was impossible to learn everything immediately and I admit, I struggled with understanding the location of my patients’ myocardial infarction (MI). I would get in report, “the patient received two stents to the LAD and one to the RCA,” and I would not be able to picture it and align it with a corresponding EKG. I quickly realized, this is just something you have to study and memorize, but I wish I would have had the following cheat cards available at the time.
So, the following is to define the acronyms I have listed on the cards, and at the bottom of this post you can download printable versions for your badge or study purposes.
RCA: Right Coronary Artery
LM: Left Main
LAD: Left Anterior Descending
PDA: Posterior Descending Artery
CIRC: Circumflex