Acute coronary syndrome
Topic: Medical-surgical
An umbrella term for a sudden drop in blood flow to the heart muscle, usually from a ruptured coronary plaque with a clot on it: unstable angina (no myocardial necrosis), non-ST-elevation MI (NSTEMI) and ST-elevation MI (STEMI). The ECG and serial troponin levels tell them apart, and STEMI needs emergency reperfusion, preferably by percutaneous coronary intervention. Treat chest pain as ACS until proved otherwise: obtain a 12-lead ECG within minutes, start cardiac monitoring, draw troponin, and give oxygen as ordered if saturation is below 92% or as agency protocol directs.
- Also known as:
- ACS, Unstable angina, STEMI, NSTEMI
- In Turkish:
- Akut koroner sendrom
What does Acute coronary syndrome mean?
Acute coronary syndrome is part of the Medical-surgical topic in nursing. Students meet it in class, on clinical placements and while preparing for exams.
Search the whole glossary, add terms to your sets and review them in the Finito Nursing app.