Acute coronary syndrome: many doubts, some answers

Welcome to this special issue of Annals of Translational Medicine (ATM). The acute coronary syndrome (ACS) is now recognized as the leading cause of death and disability worldwide. Incidentally, acute cardiac ischemia has been considered for decades as the culprit of a lifelong atherosclerotic chronic disease (1), which may persists undetected for long, but that can ultimately emerge in the form of an acute myocardial infarction (AMI), causing catastrophic consequences on heart structure and function, up to sudden death and/or severe and permanent hemodynamic deterioration (2). The clinical approach to patients with an ACS has engaged the minds of many scientists, but still many questions about the pathophysiology, diagnostics and therapeutic management of this condition remain unanswered (3). It is exactly for these reasons that this special issue of the journal has been though and scheduled.