The very rapid advances in technology have caused a revolution in Nursing practice in the last ten years. We are now only twelve years from the first description of permanent cardiac pacing. This is now an accepted method of treatment throughout the world. Bedside monitoring with oscilloscopes has passed from being an experimental investigation to normal ward practice. This rapid invasion has involved technicians and nursing staff in matters which until comparatively recently were regarded as the province of the Specialist Doctor. This book is intended primarily to give an introduction to the subject to nurses and technicians concerned with Intensive Care techniques. It is hoped it may also be of interest to Medical Students as an introduction to the subject and also as a review to those preparing for examinations. Sheffield, September 1972. David Verel Introduction About one third of deaths today are due to disease of the heart and circulation. This alone would justify a special study of them by nurses and doctors. They are of particular importance to nurses, however, as there is no other group of diseases where quick informed action by a nurse in an emergency, can save so many lives. In this book the functions of the heart and circulation are first described. There follows a brief account of the diseases of the heart, and finally, intensive coronary care and intensive post-operative care are dealt with in some detail.