ABSTRACT
DEFINITION Patients presenting with progressive chest pain at rest or with minimal exertion, caused by myocardial ischemia, potentially have what is now called an acute coronary syndrome (ACS). The admission electrocardiogram (ECG) will distinguish between patients with ST elevation, who may be candidates for reperfusion therapy, and patients without ST elevation. The latter group then either has evidence of myocardial necrosis (non-ST elevation myocardial infarction, NSTEMI) or no myocardial necrosis (unstable angina pectoris, UAP).
