Acute Coronary Syndrome

Acute coronary syndrome covers the spectrum of clinical symptoms consistent with acute myocardial ischemia, ranging from unstable angina to non-Q-wave myocardial infarction and Q-wave myocardial infarction. These life-threatening disorders are a major cause of emergency medical care and hospitalization in the United States. According to the 2006 Heart Disease and Stroke Statistics, the estimated number of discharges with ACS from hospitals in 2003 is 879,000.

Pre-hospital emergency professionals are often the first to evaluate these patients. Early identification helps lead to earlier definitive therapy and appropriate transport decisions. The ACC/AHA Practice Guidelines cite a recent study which suggests patients with acute chest pain might be better served by transport to an adequately staffed and equipped ED than by sending to a less well staffed and equipped facility.

Improving the Diagnosis of ACS
Studies indicate AUDICOR® electrocardiography has significantly better overall sensitivity performance compared to the leading electrocardiographs.

• 32–76% improvement for detecting acute myocardial infarctions
• 17–84% improvement for detecting acute myocardial infarctions in women
• 35–76% better sensitivity on acute myocardial infarctions in the presence of confounders.

In addition, the AUDICOR® report includes specific diagnostic data not available with older electrocardiography technology. If a myocardial infarction is detected, a graphical depiction of the likely location of injury denotes acute and ‘age undetermined’ and a bar graph documents the evidence of left ventricular hypertrophy.

Top