Munich, Germany, Tuesday 2 September 2008:
Compared to the 2003 guidelines, important new recommendations have been formulated regarding:
- the need for setting up networks of hospitals with different levels of technology using the same protocol and connected by an efficient ambulance service
- the selection of primary PCI vs fibrinolytic therapy
- the use of antithrombotic co-therapies with both primary PCI and fibrinolytis
- secondary prevention
The Task Force members involved are: Frans Van de Werf, Chairperson (Belgium), Jeroen Bax (The Netherlands), Amadeo Betriu (Spain), Carina Blomstrom-Lundqvist (Sweden), Filippo Crea (Italy), Volkmar Falk (Germany), Gerasimos Filippatos (Greece), Keith Fox (United Kingdom), Kurt Huber (Austria), Adnan Kastrati (Germany), Annika Rosengren (Sweden), P. Gabriel Steg (France), Marco Tubaro (Italy), Freek Verheugt (The Netherlands), Franz Weidinger (Austria) and Michael Weis (Germany).
The Task Force aims to put these guidelines on the website of the ESC and the European Heart Journal within a few weeks. Publication in a printed issue of the journal will follow soon.
Source: European Society of Cardiology