Comparison of ASAT, CK, CK-MB, and LD for the estimation of acute myocardial infarct size in man

The purpose of this study was to set up a simple and reliable procedure for estimating acute myocardial infarct (AMI) size by measuring serum enzymes in a few daily blood samples. Peak enzyme values and estimated infarct size from one, two, or three daily samples of aspartate aminotransferase (ASAT), creatine kinase (CK), CK-MB, and lactate dehydrogenase (LD) were compared with the extent of myocardial necrosis measured at autopsy in 22 patients who died from AMI. The correlation between the extent of the necrosis measured and peak serum enzymes from one daily blood sample was highest for CK-MB (r = 0.78) and LD (r = 0.73) compared to CK (r = 0.68) and ASAT (r = 0.67). To obtain a significant correlation, however, two patients had to be excluded from the ASAT and LD analyses. No significant improvement was obtained by more frequent blood sampling. Estimation of infarct size did not improve the correlation significantly for any enzyme, although the coefficient of correlation for CK-MB increased slightly (r = 0.83). Serum CK-MB determination provides a semiquantitative estimate of infarct size, but the other enzymes may give erroneous estimates owing to lesser cardiospecificity.