Emerging patterns in IHD in developing countries

n the past decade, Europe has undergone significant societal changes that include a shift of the highest premature cardiovascular mortality rate from industrialized countries to Eastern Europe. Mortality represents the most reliable indicator to estimate the burden of ischemic heart disease (IHD), and the mortality rate from IHD in Eastern Europe is higher than that of the United States and Western European countries. There are few reports regarding the incidence, mortality and quality of assistance of IHD in transitional countries. However, the recent International Survey of Acute Coronary Syndromes in Transitional Countries, a large international investigative effort that will evaluate the role of evidencebased therapies and interventional cardiac procedures over a three-year period, may help to improve clinical outcomes in these countries.