BIOCHEMICAL MARKERS IN THE DIAGNOSIS OF CORONARY-ARTERY DISEASE

For many years cardiac markers have been used to classify whether ches t pain is attributable to acute myocardial infarction or not. However massive, myocardial infarction is frequently preceded by plaque inflam mation and local thrombus formation. Novel cardiac markers focus on de tection of these more subtle manifestations of coronary artery disease . Detection of inflammation of coronary artery plaques is best achieve d by measurement of C-reactive protein and fibrinogen, while thrombus formation may be assessed by testing for fibrin formation and platelet activation. When coronary flow is severely impaired minor myocardial injury will occur and cellular constituents may egress from damaged my ocytes. Among the many cardiac markers for myocardial cell necrosis, t roponin T revealed the highest sensitivity and cardio-specificity. The superior performance of troponin T has not only refined detection of myocardial cell necrosis but has also improved the risk stratification process and may even facilitate therapeutic descision making in patie nts with acute coronary syndrome. This review will summarize the chara cteristics and performance of diagnostic tools used for classification and risk stratification of patients with suspected myocardial injury.