Cardiogenic shock remains a condition with a high
mortality rate, varying from 30% to 90%, despite the great
advances like thrombolytic therapy, development of several
methods of partial or total artificial circulatory support, and
of heart transplantation that have been made in the last two
decades in the treatment of heart diseases 1. Recently
published data from 36 centers worldwide that participated
in the Shock Trial Registry, reported that 1,380 patients
admitted in the acute phase of acute myocardial infarction
(AMI) had a 63% mortality in the hospital phase 2.
This complex clinical syndrome may have multiple causes,
may be of acute occurrence or may be the final expression
of the evolution of chronic ventricular dysfunction. Recently,
an increase in the number of patients with ventricular
dysfunction, directly related to the increase in the mean age
of the population, has been observed. The introduction of
new therapies, such as the use of thrombolysis in AMI, ACE
inhibitors, and beta-blockers for patients with heart failure
(HF), has also contributed to that increase 3-5.