Acute coronary syndromes tools from the guidelines

The ACS guidelines make a strong recommendation that patients presenting with acute chest pain – or other symptoms suggestive of ACS – should receive care guided by an evidence-based Suspected ACS Assessment Protocol that includes formal risk stratification.  

Three assessment protocols have been developed for suspected ACS: 

In patients with confirmed STEMI, the immediate priority is initiation of an emergency reperfusion strategy to improve short and long-term survival, and cardiac function.

The ACS guidelines make a strong recommendation that for patients with STEMI presenting within 12 hours of symptom onset, emergency reperfusion therapy with either primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) or fibrinolytic therapy is recommended. The exception being: the absence of advanced age, frailty and co-morbidities that influence the individual’s overall survival. In this scenario, emergency reperfusion therapy with either primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) or fibrinolytic therapy is recommended.