Acute coronary syndrome (ACS) is at present the most common clinical entity requiring admission of a patient to an inpatient cardiology service. In the past, evaluation and treatment options for patients with this syndrome were either empirical or based on observational reports of clinical outcomes. Recent clinical trials have resulted in a deeper, evidence-based understanding of the pathophysiology, presentation, risk assessment, and management of the acute coronary syndrome and its subsets (e.g., unstable angina and myocardial infarction). This book organizes the data gleaned from these trials to present the best use of individual forms of evaluation and treatment to provide optimal patient outcome. It is a clear, concise source for everything the cardiologist, cv surgeon, emergency physician or others on the frontlines of caring for patients with chest pain need to know and the only book on this topic that is evidence-based.

• Offers a complete resource on both the medical and surgical treatment options for patients with acute coronary syndrome.
• Discusses acute coronary syndrome as a spectrum of diseases that includes unstable angina, non-Q-wave myocardial infarction, and ST elevation/Q-wave myocardial infarction
• Describes the pathophysiology and mechanisms of thrombosis, clinical presentation and diagnosis, and risk assessment.
• Summarizes the results of recent clinical trials evaluating the use of platelet inhibitors, thrombin inhibitors, heparin and LMW heparins, ACE inhibitors, calcium antagonists, antiarrhythmic drugs, and other pharmacologic agents to improve outcome.