[Modern treatment of acute myocardial infarction without ST elevation].

The term unstable coronary syndromes represents a continuum of patients with unstable chest pain with or without small or large acute myocardial infarctions. There is a tendency towards an epidemiological shift to fewer large infarctions with ST elevation in the ECG (STEMI) to increased numbers of small infarctions without ST elevation (nSTEMI). Patients with unstable angina or nSTEMI should start antithrombotic medication with aspirin, heparin and clopidogrel upon arrival in hospital. Patients with medium or high risk of death or cardiac events will benefit from therapy with IIb/IIIa glycoprotein receptor inhibitors and should be referred for coronary angiography within 6-48 hours after arrival. Final therapy with percutaneous coronary intervention or coronary artery bypass surgery is indicated immediately after angiography or within a few days. Close follow-up with respect to epidemiological risk factors, diet, use of medication according to the results of large randomised studies will further reduce mortality and morbidity, in the short as well as the long term.