ANOXIA IN MYOCARDIAL INFARCTION AND INDICATIONS FOR OXYGEN THERAPY

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Abstract
Oxygen therapy has been widely employed in the management of patients with coronary thrombosis and myocardial infarction because it has been reputed to relieve pain.1 Thrombosis of a coronary artery leads to necrosis of the myocardium in the area supplied by this vessel. Adjacent to the necrotic muscle is viable but ischemic muscle, which gives rise to pain and represents a threat to the patient in that it, too, may undergo necrosis or give rise to ventricular fibrillation. One of the logical aims of therapy of myocardial infarction is to provide a more adequate supply of oxygen to the ischemic muscle until collateral circulation can develop. The inhalation of oxygen may accomplish this aim by increasing the oxygen content of the arterial blood so that each unit of blood carries more oxygen to the anoxic tissue. Oxygen therapy is also used to relieve dyspnea in myocardial infarction and to