ST-segment Elevation Myocardial Infarction: Challenges in Diagnosis

Heart disease remains the leading cause of death in the US, with ischemic heart disease comprising almost half of these deaths based on the most recent 2013 mortality data.1 While there have been reports of declining rates of acute myocardial infarction (AMI) from various registries and Medicare beneficiary reports, coronary heart disease remained the underlying cause of death in one out of seven deaths in the US.2–4 The acute coronary syndromes (ACS) are responsible for the largest share of mortality among the etiologies of coronary heart disease, wi