Ischemic heart disease in the emergency room: state of the art, innovation and research

This opinion paper is aimed to provide an overview about the state of the art, innovation and research in ischemic heart disease in the emergency room, and is a synopsis of the lectures of the 3rd Italian GREAT Network Congress (Rome, 15-19 October 2012). The leading issues of a multidisciplinary risk stratification and diagnosis of patients presenting to the emergency department with suspected ischemic heart disease will be discussed taking into consideration the variable onset of clinical signs and symptoms, the role of novel highly-sensitive troponin immunoassays, the promising use of an 80-lead electrocardiogram, echocardiography and risk stratification scores. Preliminary information will also be provided about the ongoing Italian multicentric registry on chest pain patients in emergency department, an observational prospective study aimed to collect data about patients presenting at the emergency department with typical chest pain suggesting an acute coronary syndrome.