What happens on a coronary care unit (CCU)?
We will describe what happens on a coronary care unit (CCU).
What is a CCU?
A coronary care unit (CCU) provides high dependency care to those with serious heart issues. It is a mixed ward (men and women). It provides care for acutely unwell cardiac patients.
Cardiology (means heart medicine) doctors, nurses, and other healthcare professionals have extensive training to work in a CCU. There is usually a low ratio of patients to staff in the CCU – e.g. one nurse for 2-3 patients.
What types of heart condition are managed in a CCU?
You may need treatment or monitoring in a CCU if you have:
- had a heart attack (myocardial infarction) or unstable angina (can happen as a warning for a heart attack)
- heart failure
- other serious heart disease, such as a disturbance in heart rhythm (called an arrhythmia, which can be too fast or slow),
- a heart infection
- had heart surgery.
What happens on a CCU?
Most patients are admitted to a CCU for 3-5 days.
A CCU is usually configured differently than a typical hospital ward. Most have a centralised nursing station, surrounded by 8-12 beds; so patients can be seen from the nursing station.
The nursing station itself will be fitted with monitoring screens which show continuous readouts for every patient. If there is any kind of emergency, it is detected immediately by staff who can respond immediately.
Many patients in a CCU are on bed rest, but comfortable seating is available for those who are able to sit out, and may benefit from that.
There is a daily ward round of cardiology doctors and nurses. This a good time to ask questions.
It is not unusual for patients in the CCU to have coexisting chronic (long-term) or acute (short-term) conditions that can complicate their care and lead to longer hospital stays. If this is a needed, they will be transferred to a nearby ordinary (called ‘general’) cardiac ward.
Heart attack and PCI
One of the most common reasons for admission to CCU is a heart attack (myocardial infarction). Many patients with a heart attack need a percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). This is a coronary angiogram/plasty, which is an x-ray procedure is used to widen blocked or narrowed coronary arteries (the main blood vessels supplying the heart).
From the community such a patient is taken to hospital and will often go straight to a ‘cardiac catheter laboratory (‘lab’)’ where the procedure is done, and then they are taken to the CCU.
Summary
We have described what happens on a coronary care unit (CCU). They are there to help you if have had a heart attack, angina, heart failure or a disturbance in heart rhythm (arrhythmia).
