Chest pain centers in Brazil
Roberto Bassan, M.D.

Dr. Bassan is Chefe da Clinica Cardiologica, Hospital Prîcardiaco, Brazil.

Chest pain centers started to spread in Brazil in 1996, with the introduction of the first unit at Prîcardiaco Hospital in the city of Rio de Janeiro. Although this private, cardiology-oriented emergency hospital has been the leading institution in that city for the care of acute coronary syndrome patients, the inauguration of its chest pain unit and the concomitant use of a self-developed algorithm for patient management has placed the hospital in a nationwide, well-recognized position of outstanding care for acute cardiac patients.

The use of a data bank allowed a group of investigators to prospectively collect clinical and laboratory information in these patients, which enabled the presentation and publication of dozens of scientific papers in the following years. This data confirmed the importance of a systematic strategy in the assessment and management of chest pain patients in the emergency department.

In 2000, the First Brazilian National Meeting of Chest Pain Units was held in Rio de Janeiro, coordinated by Roberto Bassan, M.D., F.A.C.C., and sponsored by Prîcard’aco Hospital, gathering some 160 cardiologists and internists from all over the country.

Persuaded by the concept that chest pain units improve care of chest pain patients, three other institutions joined Prîcardiaco Hospital and opened up their own units during 1998. By the end of 2000, a total of 18 chest pain units were operating in Brazil, most of them in medium-sized cities and small hospitals.