Evidence-based care for patients with acute coronary syndrome in New York City

This chapter describes an innovative model of emergency cardiac care, designed by an academic medical center for residents living in the high-disparity community of East Harlem in New York City. Due to the socioeconomic, racial, and ethnic disparities experienced by individuals living in this community, residents experience the second highest rate of premature death in New York. With a state-of-the-art cardiac catheterization center, cardiologists, partnering with nurse practitioners, collaborate to utilize the best available evidence to assess, diagnose, and treat patients with acute coronary syndrome. This innovative model has resulted in a dramatic reduction of mortality rates involving both nonemergency and emergency patients as well as an improved safety record that has surpassed other New York State Hospitals since reporting of data began in 1994.