Medical therapy in acute mesenteric arterial ischemia                CHEN Zhong，ZHAI Meng-yao. Department of Vascular Surgery, Beijing Anzhen Hospital, Capital Medical College, Beijing 100029,China
Corresponding author：CHEN Zhong，E-mail：chenzhong8658@vip.sina.com
Abstract    Acute mesenteric arterial ischemia is a vascular emergency with a low incidence. Several pathophysiologic events (arterial embolism, arterial thrombosis and diffuse vasospasm) lead to a sudden decrease in mesenteric blood flow. The mortality rate of mesenteric arterial ischemia remains high. The reason is insufficient understanding of its clinical picture in differential diagnosis of abdominal pain, thus there always is an unacceptable time delay before treatment. Every patient with acute mesenteric arterial ischemia must be diagnosed urgently and begin to receive therapy immediately. Therapeutic options vary from conservative resuscitation, medical treatment, endovascular therapy, surgical resection and revascularization. Prompt and appropriate medical treatment is the key to a better outcome and is the foundation of whole therapeutic process.