Consequently, there are circumstances in which deviations from these guidelines are appropriate. The recommendations in this CPG are the official policy of the ACC and AHA until they are superseded by a published addendum, focused update, or revised full-text CPG. Jeffrey L. Anderson, MD, FACC, FAHA Chair, ACC/AHA Task Force on Practice Guidelines 1.1. Methodology and Evidence Review The recommendations listed in this CPG are, whenever pos- sible, evidence based. An extensive evidence review was conducted through October 2012, and other selected refer- ences published through April 2014 were reviewed by the GWC. Literature included was derived from research involv- ing human subjects, published in English, and indexed in MEDLINE (through PubMed), EMBASE, the Cochrane Library, Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality Reports, and other selected databases relevant to this CPG. The rel- evant data are included in evidence tables in the Online Data Supplement. Key search words included but were not limited to the following: acute coronary syndrome, anticoagulant therapy, antihypertensives, anti-ischemic therapy, antiplatelet therapy, antithrombotic therapy, beta blockers, biomarkers, calcium channel blockers, cardiac rehabilitation, conserva- tive management, diabetes mellitus, glycoprotein IIb/IIIa inhibitors, heart failure, invasive strategy, lifestyle modifica- tion, myocardial infarction, nitrates, non-ST-elevation, P2Y12 receptor inhibitor, percutaneous coronary intervention, renin- angiotensin-aldosterone inhibitors, secondary prevention, smoking cessation, statins, stent, thienopyridines, troponins, unstable angina, and weight management. Additionally, the GWC reviewed documents related to non-ST-elevation acute coronary syndrome (NSTE-ACS) previously published by the ACC and AHA. References selected and published in this document are representative and not all-inclusive. 1.2. Organization of the GWC The GWC was composed of clinicians, cardiologists, inter- nists, interventionists, surgeons, emergency medicine special- ists, family practitioners, and geriatricians. The GWC included representatives from the ACC and AHA, American Academy of Family Physicians, American College of Emergency Physicians, American College of Physicians, Society for Table 1. 