Cardiovascular system is vital for body homeostasis and is carefully regulated in acute and chronic conditions. Despite important achievements in the field of hemodynamic assessment and supportive treatment for hemodynamic stabilization in intensive care medicine, several clinically relevant questions are still unresolved or inadequately answered.

While the debate is still ongoing regarding the best type of fluid used for resuscitation in different conditions, there is new evidence for patient monitoring. Recent experimental and clinical trials suggest that elements of the cardiovascular function can effectively be assessed by several measures including dynamic parameters (e.g., stroke volume/pulse pressure variation and passive leg raising). However, it remains unknown whether this has been translated into clinical routine, in either the operating theatre, intensive care, or the emergency department. Assessment of the balance between oxygen delivery and consumption by simple measures such as the central venous oxygen saturation, venous-to-arterial carbon dioxide gap, and serum lactate levels, at the bedside is another intriguing topic. Laboratory biomarkers can help in differential diagnosis of acute conditions or deteriorations. Eventually, all contribute to individually tailored patient management and clinical decision-making. In general, significant advances have been made, but the quest for an ideal monitoring biomarker is still ongoing. Therefore, the aim of this special issue is to give an update on recent developments, review current best practice, to highlight and discuss controversies, and suggest ideas for future research in the field.

We invite investigators and clinicians to contribute original articles on all aspects of cardiovascular function in intensive care and emergency medicine. Particular emphasis will be given to patient assessment, monitoring, and management but we also welcome animal model studies, mechanistic studies, epidemiological surveys, novel imaging, and haemodynamic methodology articles and results of clinical trials. State-of-the-art review articles, expert consensus documents (particularly on topics where little or contradictory evidence from randomized trials is available), and case reports/series of rare or exceptional aspects in the field will also be considered.

Potential topics include, but are not limited to:

• Cardiovascular system function and adaptations in acute conditions
• Noninvasive and invasive haemodynamic assessment and monitoring
• Imaging with emphasis on bedside methods
• Biomarkers
• Heart rate as a risk marker and therapeutic target
• Management of haemodynamically unstable patient (fluid optimization, vasopressors, inotropic drugs, and mechanical support)
• Management of arrhythmias
• Current clinical practice in different geographical regions and in different diseases