Common goals to face crisis at coronary care units.

The health care provided to cardiovascular emergencies has undergone several changes in past decades, motivating the re-structuration of health care services. Currently, that subject is being widely discussed by the American Heart Association1 and worldwide. Consequently, discussing that within the context of our reality is important. Of the innumerous changes, those referring to acute coronary syndrome (ACS) are significant. It is worth noting the logistic and structural needs of the Coronary Care Unit (CCU) with defined protocols of chemical and mechanical thrombolysis. Initially, observation centers for patients with acute myocardial infarction were proposed to prevent death due to ventricular fibrillation. The advent of defibrillation has reduced in-hospital mortality by 50% and disseminated that health care model. The CCU has modified the care provided to patients with infarction, who began to be considered at high risk and in need for constant specialized monitoring, similarly to that provided at the Intensive Care Unit (ICU), at high cost2.