Cardiological Society of India: Position statement for the management of ST elevation myocardial infarction in India

The management of acute ST-Elevation Myocardial Infarction (STEMI) has rapidly evolved worldwide during the last two decades with the better understanding of the need for early reperfusion and protocol based pharmacotherapy.Despite global agreement on most issues related to the management of STEMI, wide discrepancies exist in implementation of Western guidelines in most of the developing world.The need has been felt that every country and society should adopt the existing scientific data, in combination with local limitations and strengths, and develop protocols that work best in their community.India, home to the world's second largest population, is a country with extreme diversity in terms of geography, race, culture, literacy, infrastructure and economy.All these factors pose serious challenges in the management of acute diseases like STEMI.It is an important responsibility of the medical fraternity, policy makers and all concerned stake-holders to provide the best available therapeutic options in equitable fashion based on the current knowledge and available evidences.It is in this spirit that Cardiological Society of India (CSI) decided to involve leading experts of India, to prepare this 'Position Statement for the Management of STEMI in India'.