Essays on Cardiology

More than 30 years ago the hypothesis of an interventional approach in patients with unstable angina or non–ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (NSTEMI) was considered only after a “cooling-off” period. This negative attitude was in part justified by the lack of effective antithrombotic adjunctive therapies and devices in the management of lesion containing thrombus and the subsequent early hazard of percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). The delay—many days or weeks after hospital admission—to interventional treatment could result in an apparent stabilization of…...