Ivana Šoóšová
Coronary artery disease is one of the leading causes of adult mortality in developed countries including Slovakia. This review deals with diagnostic and therapeutic procedures that are applied in clinical practice within the management of patients with suspected or documented stable coronary artery disease. The emphasis is given on differential diagnosis of the disease in the outpatient clinical practice of cardiologists or internists. An essential part of the management is the proposal of an optimum therapy – from lifestyle regimen through pharmacological therapy to the strategy of invasive diagnosis and potential radical treatment. A very important task in the management is also the long-term follow-up of patients with coronary artery disease, with only some of them belonging to the special cardiologist care. The main purpose of the correct and adequate disease management remains the reduction of mortality and improvement of their quality of life.