[Epidemiology of acute coronary syndromes in France and in Europe]

In France, the incidence of myocardial infarctions leading to hospitalisations can be estimated between 60,000 and 65,000 each year. With the addition of cases of unstable angina, about 80,000 to 100,000 hospital stays each year are caused by acute coronary syndromes. Cases of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest of ischaemic origin should also be taken into account when estimating the annual incidence of myocardial infarction. In Europe, a North-South gradient, and even more an East-West gradient is observed for the incidence of ischaemic heart disease, with the highest figures found in central and eastern European countries. A consistent trend to a decrease in the incidence of myocardial infarction is observed on both sides of the Atlantic. In parallel, progress in the management of acute coronary syndromes has led to a marked decrease in early case fatality rates. Overall, these trends explain the spectacular decrease in cardiovascular mortality observed over the past 25 years in most European countries. Acute coronary syndromes, however, remain severe clinical conditions, which carry a high mid-term and long-term morbi-mortality and deserve further efforts to develop new therapeutic tools.