Management of stable coronary artery disease: from evidence to clinical practice

Ischemic heart disease, the leading cause of death, is extremely diffuse among patients hospitalized in Internal Medicine ward so that Internist should be able to manage correctly this disease. The following review revises the most recent literature and offers a practical clinical guide to be confident on this topic. After having emphasized that clinical overview remains essential, it briefly mentions advantages and limits of different investigations, reminds readers of possible alternative etiopathogeneses of ischemic heart disease (cardiac syndrome X), reports the most appropriate medical therapy, and gives the opportunity to understand appropriateness of specialist strategies such as coronary artery by-pass grafting and percutaneous coronary intervention. Finally, it illustrates a rational and evidence-based follow-up of these patients, considering that only a small part of them should be followed by a Cardiologist. The aim of a correct management of ischemic heart disease remains to reduce mortality and improve the quality of life.