University of Maryland School of Medicine logo
Emergency Medicine
All Departments
UMSOM Assistant
UMEM Educational Pearls
  • Home
  • Departments
  • Emergency Medicine
  • CME
  • UMEM Educational Pearls
  • CME
  • Courses and Conferences
  • Free Open Access Medical Education
  • UMEM Educational Pearls

Search

Title: Septic Cardiomyopathy

Category: Critical Care

Posted: 1/9/2018 by Mike Winters, MBA, MD (Updated: 7/21/2026)

Septic Cardiomyopathy

  • Cardiac dysfunction is common in patients with sepsis.
  • Though mulitiple definitions exist, sepsis cardiomyopathy (SCM) is generally defined as an "acute syndrome of cardiac dysfunction that is unrelated to ischemia in patients with sepsis".
  • Depending on the study, the incidence of SCM ranges anwywhere from 7% to 70%.
  • Risk factors for SCM include:
    • Male
    • Younger age
    • High lactate at admission
    • History of heart failure
  • The best approach to treating patients with SCM is to maximize your treatment of sepsis.
  • Dobutamine is no longer routinely recommended for SCM based solely on measurements of ScvO2.

References

Beesley S, et al. Septic cardiomyopathy. Crit Care Med 2018. [epub ahead of print]


University of Maryland School of Medicine logo
  • Departments
  • Programs
  • Research Centers
  • Institutes
  • Graduate Education
  • CIBR Cores
  • Offices of the Dean
    • University of Maryland, Baltimore
    • University of Maryland Medical Center
    • Medical Alumni Association of the University of Maryland
    • Health Sciences and Human Services Library
University of Maryland School of Medicine
655 W. Baltimore Street
Baltimore, MD 21201
Contact Us

© University of Maryland School of Medicine

    • Webmaster
    • Web Accessibility
    • Site Index
    • UMB Hotline
    • Employment
    • Map