Calcium and the Heart

Excerpt

To the Editor: Urban and associates (1) have contributed to our understanding of calcium use during cardiac arrest, although the controversy remains unresolved. The authors described the cause of the cardiac arrests in their patients, but the small number of patients examined makes it difficult to draw any conclusions about the relation between basic rhythm during resuscitation and calcium levels. The basic rhythm during resuscitation is an important prognostic factor (2). An esophageal mobility disorder has long been considered one of the main indications of calcium use during resuscitation (3, 4). But the pathophysiology of this ominous condition and the