title: The cardiac profile.
abstract: The clinical laboratory furnishes information valuable not only in the diagnosis of myocardial infarction (MI), but also in screening for possible causes of ischemic heart disease through definition of the lipid status of individuals. Accordingly, the panels used in the study of hyperlipidemia as a possible cause of ischemic heart disease are reviewed, including the determination of serum cholesterol, triglycerides, and electrophoretic development of the lipoprotein pattern. The results of an on-going study of more than 500 patients admitted to the emergency room of a general hospital with symptoms of "chest pain" are presented--including the electrocardiogram, enzyme tests, and isoenzyme patterns, in conjuction with the clinical picture. The relative diagnostic value of test procedures is considered, convering the pre-enzymatic period, current test panels, and possible future approaches. It is concluded that the laboratory's position in providing data for diagnosis of MI would be enhanced through development of procedures with as great or greater specificity than the isoenzyme patterns of creatine kinase and lactate dehydrogenase, currently the most specific indicators of MI, but which have results available in two to five minutes.
mesh_terms: D002784:Cholesterol / Q000097:blood; D004796:Clinical Enzyme Tests; D003402:Creatine Kinase / Q000097:blood; D004587:Electrophoresis, Agar Gel; D006801:Humans; D006949:Hyperlipidemias / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis*; D007770:L-Lactate Dehydrogenase / Q000097:blood; D008074:Lipoproteins / Q000032:analysis; D009203:Myocardial Infarction / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000209:etiology; D012016:Reference Values; D014280:Triglycerides / Q000097:blood
chemical_list: D008074:Lipoproteins; D014280:Triglycerides; D002784:Cholesterol; D007770:L-Lactate Dehydrogenase; D003402:Creatine Kinase