Assessment of microcirculation in cardiogenic shock.

Abstract

Adequate tissue perfusion is of utmost importance to avoid organ failure in patients with cardiogenic shock. Within the recent years, the microcirculation, defined as the perfusion of the smallest vessels, has been identified to play a crucial role. Microcirculatory changes may include capillary flow disturbances as well as changes in the density of perfused vessels. Due to the availability of new technologies to assess the microcirculation, interesting new data came up and it is the purpose of this review to summarize recent studies in the field.