This book provides a detailed review of emergency cardiac surgery, which accounts for approximately 4% of cardiac procedures performed, yet carries a six-fold increase in operative mortality compared to elective surgery. Emergency cardiac surgery lies at the intersection of multiple clinical disciplines and is often underreported in large databases and national audits, while existing risk stratification models lack predictive value and training and education remain limited. This book outlines strategies for the management of precarious clinical conditions, such as critical coronary and valvular disease, aortic dissections and endocarditis, as well as the systems and support mechanisms required for high-risk cardiological interventions that may necessitate emergency surgery. It also addresses cardiothoracic trauma in both inpatient and out-of-hospital settings, vascular and thoracic conditions requiring emergency interventions, and the acute care of specific vulnerable populations, including pediatric patients and those awaiting heart transplantation.

Emergency Cardiac Surgery provides essential knowledge from leading experts to help clinicians identify pathology and apply best-practice approaches to the management of these conditions. It represents a multidisciplinary effort that includes input from general and interventional cardiologists, cardiologists with specialist interests in electrophysiology and heart failure, vascular surgeons, and cardiac surgeons with expertise in coronary, valvular, aortovascular, congenital and transplant surgery. Certain sections have been specifically written by and will be of great interest to emergency care physicians, anaesthetists, and perfusion scientists. This is the first book dedicated to this important clinical area, which poses a significant impact on optimal patient outcomes, quality improvement and policy making.

Mr Antonios Kourliouros is a consultant cardiac surgeon at the John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford. He trained in cardiothoracic surgery within the London rotation and sub-specialised in heart and lung transplantation at Papworth Hospital, Cambridge. Mr Kourliouros is a Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons of England in cardiothoracic surgery and obtained his PhD from St George’s University of London. He served as training programme director for cardiothoracic surgery in Oxford.