Physicians' Awareness of ECG Abnormalities Linked to Acute Ischemic Chest Pain

Chest pain is the second most common complaint in adult emergency department (ED) patients in the United States. Most visits result in a diagnosis of noncardiac chest pain and approximately half in nonspecific chest pain. Roughly 6% are ultimately diagnosed with a life-threatening condition, which is overwhelmingly (\>90%) acute coronary syndrome (ACS). The term acute coronary syndrome (ACS) is applied to patients in whom there is a suspicion or confirmation of acute myocardial ischemia or infarction. ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI), Non-ST-elevation MI (NSTEMI), and unstable angina are the three traditional types of ACS.