Advantageous Predictors of Acute Coronary Syndromes Evaluation (APACE) Study
The triage of patients with suspected acute coronary syndrome in the emergency room is a time-consuming diagnostic challenge. Therefore high sensitive early markers for myocardial damage are needed for more rapidly rule out of acute myocardial infarction (AMI) - especially for the first 3 to 4 hours after onset of chest pain in AMI (troponin-blind period). Therefore we test the hypothesis that the use meticulous patient history and novel cardiac markers can provide a faster detection or exclusion of AMI in patients presenting with acute chest pain to the emergency department. The prospective cohort study is designed to enrol patients presenting with acute chest pain at rest within the last 12 hours to the emergency department. Several blood samples for detection of the new markers will be drawn and compared with the gold standard for the diagnosis of AMI (high-sensitivity cardiac troponin T). All patients will be contacted by telephone at 3, 12, 24 and 60 months to determine functional status, major adverse cardiac events (death, myocardial infarction, coronary artery bypass grafting, percutaneous coronary intervention), and the results of cardiac examination (stress test, coronary angiography) if performed.
• Patients presenting to the emergency department
• Typical angina pectoris or other thoracic sensations that are suspected to be caused by myocardial ischemia
• Symptoms at rest or minor exertion
• Onset of symptoms within the last 12 hours prior to presentation
• Written informed consent