ACS includes STEMI, NSTEMI and unstable angina.
Take a good history. Not all chest pain is ACS, and not all ACS presents with chest pain.
Older patients, women and patients with diabetes may present with breathlessness, collapse, nausea, fatigue or other less typical symptoms.
A normal ECG or negative troponin does not exclude unstable angina.
Read moreHyperkalaemia can mimic STEMI, but true coronary occlusion and hyperkalaemia may coexist. The challenge is to recognise the ECG abnormalities, confirm potassium rapidly, treat life-threatening hyperkalaemia and avoid delaying reperfusion.
The key principle is parallel management: investigate and treat hyperkalaemia while activating the primary PCI pathway when acute coronary occlusion remains a credible diagnosis.
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