This study presents data on the management of acute coronary syndromes collected in a national registry organized by the french Collège national des cardiologues des hôpitaux généraux in September 2000. In all 86 institutions participated and data from 607 patients (mean age: 67 years; 413 men) were analysed. The final diagnosis was unstable angina in 38%, non-Q wave myocardial infarction in 21% and Q-wave myocardial infarction in 40.5%. Median time to admission was 4 h. At symptom onset, patients called their general practitioners in 46% of cases, emergency ambulatory units in 31% of cases and arrived to the hospital on their own in 23% of cases. Observance of the European Society of Cardiology guidelines was good for patients without ST segment elevation. In patients with ST segment elevation, 9% had pre-hospital thrombolysis, 28% hospital thrombolysis, and 27% had angioplasty within 48 h of admission, including 9% with rescue angioplasty. Overall, 57% of patients with ST segment elevation received reperfusion therapy. In hospital mortality was 6% for the whole cohort, and 11% for patients with acute myocardial infarctions. By multivariate analysis, predictors of in-hospital mortality were age, type of acute coronary syndrome, absence of beta-blocker therapy, and absence of coronary angiography.