Despite advances in care, cardiogenic shock (CS) remains the leading cause of death in patients with ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI). One plausible reason we have failed in treating this high-risk cohort effectively may lie in our ability to objectively define CS and intervene timely. Per current guidelines, CS is defined as either (1) systolic blood pressure (SBP) ≤ 90mmHg, (2) cardiac-index (CI) < 1.8 L/min/m2 or 2 mmol/L; these parameters are used interchangeably.
