"Routine invasive" versus "selective invasive" approaches to nonST-segment elevation acute coronary syndromes management in the post-stent/platelet inhibition era
William E. Boden, MD, FACC* ,*,1
* Division of Cardiology and the Henry Low Heart Center at Hartford Hospital, Hartford, Connecticut, USA
Department of Medicine, University of Connecticut School of Medicine, Farmington, Connecticut, USA

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Figure 1 Acute ischemia pathway. EF = ejection fraction; LV = left ventricular; Rx = treatment. Adapted from ACC/AHA Guidelines for the Management of Patients with Unstable Angina and Non-ST-Segment Elevation Myocardial Infarction. J Am Coll Cardiol 2000;36:9701062. Copyright 2002 by the American College of Cardiology and American Heart Association, Inc. Permission granted for one-time use.
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Figure 2 From the VANQWISH trial: Kaplan-Meier curves for the trial primary end points (death or MI) at one-year of follow-up. CHR = Cox hazard ratio; CI = confidence interval; MI = myocardial infarction; VANQWISH = Veterans Affairs NonQ-Wave Infarction Strategies in Hospital. Adapted with permission from Boden WE, ORourke RA, Crawford MH, et al., for the Veterans Affairs NonQ-Wave Infarction Strategies in Hospital (VANQWISH) trial investigators. Outcomes in patients with acute non-Q-wave myocardial infarction randomly assigned to an invasive as compared with a conservative management strategy. N Engl J Med 1998;338:178592. Copyright © 2002, Massachusetts Medical Society. All rights reserved.
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Figure 3 From the FRISC-II trial. Kaplan-Meier analysis of the probability of event-free survival according to strategy group during six months of follow-up for the trial primary end point of death or MI, showing significant benefit in clinical outcomes for the routine invasive strategy. CI = confidence interval; FRISC = Fragmin and fast Revascularization during InStability in Coronary artery disease; MI = myocardial infarction; RR = risk reduction. Adapted with permission from Elsevier Science (The Lancet 1999;354:70815).
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Figure 4 From the TACTICS TIMI-18 trial. Kaplan-Meier analysis of the probability of event-free survival for the triple composite end point of death, MI, and biomarker-positive ACS during six months of follow-up, showing a significant benefit for the routine invasive strategy. CI = confidence interval; MI = myocardial infarction; OR = odds ratio; TACTICS TIMI = Treat angina with Aggrastat and determine Cost of Therapy with an Invasive or Conservative StrategyThrombolysis in Myocardial Infarction trial. Adapted with permission from Cannon CP, Weintraub WS, Demopoulos LA, et al., for the TACTICSThrombolysis in Myocardial Infarction-18 investigators. Comparison of early invasive and conservative strategies in patients with unstable coronary syndromes treated with the glycoprotein IIb/IIIa inhibitor tirofiban. N Engl J Med 2001;344:187987. Copyright © 2002, Massachusetts Medical Society. All rights reserved.
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Figure 5 Flow diagram of a proposed risk-stratification algorithm for patients with nonST-segment elevation acute coronary syndromes. ASA = aspirin; ECG = electrocardiogram; GP IIb/IIIa = glycoprotein platelet IIb/IIIa inhibitor; Hx = history; LMWH = low-molecular-weight heparin; PCI = percutaneous coronary intervention; PE = physical exam; STTWA = ST-T-wave abnormalities; TW = T-waves; UFH = unfractionated heparin. Derived from Boden WE, McKay R. Optimal treatment of acute coronary syndromesan evolving strategy. N Engl J Med 2001;344:193942.
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