Cardiogenic shock is a highly acute and life-threatening condition, which have been associated with a persistently high short-term mortality around 50 % throughout the last two decades. It is a clinical state of acute myocardial dysfunction, which leads to reduced cardiac output and consequently end-organ hypoperfusion. Cardiogenic shock can derive from predominant failure of either the right ventricle, the left ventricle or be biventricular. Acute left ventricular failure remains the most common cause of cardiogenic shock, why most research have focused on patients with significantly reduced left ventricular ejection fraction. However, acute right ventricular failure in the setting of cardiogenic shock remains sparsely investigated and was therefore put under the scope in this thesis. This was done in 1) a retrospective setting following the establishment of one of the largest contemporary cardiogenic shock cohorts and 2) translational studies assessing the haemodynamic effects of existing advanced treatment options (I.e. mechanical circulatory support devices).

The project revealed novel and interesting findings with regards to the role of the right ventricle in cardiogenic shock, and the persistently high mortality rates observed irrespective of affected ventricle(s) underline the critical nature of the condition as well as the need for further resear h. Furthermore the project provided new important insights to the field of mechanical circulatory support devices.

All findings have been published in international peer reviewed journals and can be found via the links below.

Professor Christian Hassager, MD, PhD, DMSc, Department of Cardiology, Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen, Denmark

Professor Hanne Berg Ravn, MD, PhD, DMSc, Department of cardiothoracic anaesthesiology, Odense University Hospital, Odense, Denmark

Professor Jacob Eifer Møller, MD, PhD, DMSc, Department of Cardiology, Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen, Denmark

Associate professor Lene Holmvang, MD, DMSc, Department of Cardiology, Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen, Denmark

Professor Lisette Okkels Jensen, MD, PhD, DMSc, Department of Cardiology, Odense University Hospital, Odense, Denmark