Cardiologists expand definition of MI

LONDON, 1 September (SPIS MedWire). Even small degrees of myocardial damage should be classified and treated as myocardial infarction (MI), a joint panel of cardiologists representing the US and Europe has decided. The consensus document, published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, was prepared by a board of representatives from the American College of Cardiology and the European Society of Cardiology. The panel agreed that, based on new techniques that can enhance the accuracy of diagnosis, any patient previously diagnosed as having severe, stable or unstable angina pectoris who is positive for cardiac troponin should be diagnosed as having had a small acute MI. Participants also agreed that as scientific technology and theory evolve, so too must the way in which patients are diagnosed and their conditions labeled. The introduction of techniques for measuring cardiac troponin served as the cornerstone of the conference's new...