Launched in 2001, CRUSADE is a national quality improvement initiative, designed to increase the practice of evidence-based medicine for patients diagnosed with non-ST segment elevation acute coronary syndromes (NSTE ACS) (i.e., unstable angina or NSTE myocardial infarction).

Through a continuous cycle of data collection, performance feedback and quality improvement interventions, over 500 participating sites in the US are consistently improving the standard of care for patients with NSTE ACS. Because of the dedication of the participating hospitals to this mission, over 200,000 cases have been submitted to the CRUSADE database. For more information visit the CRUSADE website.

In 2007, a milestone occurred. Duke Clinical Research Institute and its CRUSADE leadership joined forces with the American College of Cardiology Foundation's National Cardiovascular Data Registry (NCDR™) to launch a new initiative to improve the safety and outcomes for patients with ACS through the development of NCDR-ACTION™. This initiative will combine the data collection and quality reporting features of two leading national ACS registries to create the largest and most comprehensive national cardiovascular patient database ever developed. For more information visit the NCDR-ACTION Registry™ visit the website or call 800-257-4737 for more information.