Acute coronary syndromes: Epidemiology and diagnosis

Abstract

Acute coronary syndromes are a major public health problem. Acute coronary syndrome (ACS) includes acute myocardial infarction (AMI), with or without ST elevation and unstable angina. The annual incidence of AMI is 565,000 new events and 300,000 recurrent attacks each year. Risk factors for heart disease (CD) ischemic include: smoking, high levels of serum lipids, hypertension, diabetes mellitus, morbid obesity, sedentary lifestyle, low daily consumption of fruits and vegetables, alcohol problem and psychosocial index. The initial assessment of an ACS should focus on the discomfort chest, signs and symptoms and risk factors for ACS. Biological markers of myocardial injury today are not essential to decide the initial management but have contributed to an increased sensitivity of diagnosis and provide data for the prognosis of patients.