Document provides recommendations for primary care physicians.

2004 DEC 27 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- A clinical practice guideline from the American College of Physicians described primary care management of chronic stable angina and asymptomatic suspected or known coronary artery disease.

According to a report published in the journal Annals of Internal Medicine, "In 1999, the American College of Physicians (ACP), then the American College of Physicians-American Society of Internal Medicine, and the American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association (ACC/AHA) developed joint guidelines on the management of patients with chronic stable angina. The ACC/AHA then published an updated guideline in 2002, which ACP recognized as a scientifically valid review of the evidence and background paper."

V. Snow and colleagues of the American College of Physicians explained, "This ACP guideline summarizes the recommendations of the 2002 ACC/AHA updated guideline and underscores the recommendations most likely to be important to physicians seeing patients in the primary care setting. This guideline is the second of 2 that provide guidance on the management of patients with chronic stable angina. This document covers treatment and follow-up of symptomatic patients who have not had an acute myocardial infarction or revascularization procedure in the previous 6 months."

"Sections addressing asymptomatic patients are also included. Asymptomatic refers to patients with known or suspected coronary disease based on a history or electrocardiographic evidence ...