With the advent and rapid evolution of contemporary percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI), the early invasive management of acute myocardial infarction (AMI) has become a mainstay in therapy with significant impact on patient outcomes. However, despite modern advances in technology and system-based practices, AMI presenting with cardiogenic shock (CS) continues to portend a high risk of morbidity and mortality. Few randomized controlled clinical trials are available to guide decision-making in this uniquely challenging patient population. Understanding the pathophysiologic mechanism by which injury occurs and propagates the shock cycle can be instrumental in selecting an appropriate strategy for revascularization and left ventricular unloading. In this episode we are joined by Dr. Venu Menon, The Mehdi Razavi Endowed Chair and Professor of Medicine at the Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine,  section head of clinical cardiology, fellowship program director, and director of the Cardiac intensive care unit at the Cleveland Clinic. Dr. Menon shares his wealth of knowledge and experience to help us review the contemporary data available for AMI CS management in a case-based discussion. We are also joined by Dr. Priya Kothapalli, star chief fellow and future interventionalist from University of Texas at Austin, series co-chair Dr. Yoav Karpenshif, and CardioNerds Co-founders Amit Goyal and Daniel Ambinder. Audio editing by CardioNerds Academy Intern, Dr. Christian Faaborg-Andersen. The CardioNerds Cardiac Critical Care Series is a multi-institutional collaboration made possible by contributions of stellar fellow leads and expert faculty from several programs, led by series co-chairs, Dr. Mark Belkin, Dr. Eunice Dugan, Dr. Karan Desai, and Dr. Yoav Karpenshif. Pearls • Notes • References • Guest Profiles • Production Team CardioNerds Cardiac Critical Care PageCardioNerds Episode PageCardioNerds AcademyCardionerds Healy Honor Roll CardioNerds Journal ClubSubscribe to The Heartbeat Newsletter!Check out CardioNerds SWAG!Become a CardioNerds Patron! Pearls and Quotes - Approach to Acute Myocardial Infarction Cardiogenic Shock with Dr. Venu Menon The H&P does matter! Age, location of infarction, heart rate, systolic blood pressure, and heart failure symptoms all carry weight in determining prognosis and risk of mortality.Define functional status, comorbid conditions, and life expectancy to help guide clinical decision-making. Do a quick bedside echocardiogram if possible to elucidate the predominant mechanism driving CS and rule out mechanical complications.Act with urgency! Get to the catheterization lab to characterize coronary anatomy and revascularize the culprit vessel as soon as possible.Minimize/avoid the use of vasopressors; if needed, wean as quickly as possible to avoid worsening myocardial ischemia. Consider mechanical circulatory support early!Despite dramatic advances in AMI management, data is limited in AMI CS management. Ask the important questions, get involved in the scientific inquiry as a trainee! Show notes - Approach to Acute Myocardial Infarction Cardiogenic Shock with Dr. Venu Menon 1. Why is it important to recognize AMI complicated by CS? AMI CS occurs in 7-10% of patients presenting with AMI and has a higher prevalence among elderly patients.The SHOCK trial (1999) showed significant survival benefit at 6 months with early revascularization with balloon angioplasty compared to medical therapy alone in AMI CS.Registry data suggests that early revascularization is beneficial in AMI CS even in elderly patients. Decision-making should be guided using a holistic view of the patient’s overall biology.Despite advances in revascularization techniques and availability of mechanical support, AMI CS portends a 40-45% risk of 30-day mortality in the modern era.Significant variation in management strategy exists between centers and data to guide decision-making is li...