Definitions of acute coronary syndromes

• Autores: Emily J. Cantor, Ajay K. Jain, Charles Knight
• Localización: Medicine, ISSN-e 1357-3039, Vol. 42, Nº. 9, 2014, págs. 502-504
• Idioma: inglés
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• Resumen

  • The recently published third universal definition of myocardial infarction (MI) reiterates the importance of troponins as a pivotal measure in the diagnosis of MI. This importance is based on the sensitivity and specificity of the troponins and their known correlation with the outcome of acute coronary syndromes. A raised serum concentration of troponin is known to be related to a worse prognosis, including death and recurrent cardiac events. The universal definition, first published in 2007, introduces sub-types of MI, based on the differing pathological processes that can lead to myocardial necrosis. Although this definition has yet to be adopted worldwide, it has already resulted in the diagnosis of MI being made in greater numbers of patients, with important implications for work, insurance, and lifestyle. However, it is likely that this ‘new’ group of patients will receive therapy with treatments known to improve prognosis. In this paper, we describe the implications of the universal definition of MI in the context of diagnosis, investigation, treatment and prognosis.