Changes in the ratio of lactate dehydrogenase isoenzymes 1 and 2 during the first day after acute myocardial infarction.

It is known that the ratio of isoenzyme 1 to total lactate dehydrogenase (LD, EC 1.1.1.27) in serum is increased in all patients with acute myocardial infarction within 24 h of the infarct. We now show that the LD-1/LD-2 ratio for serum more promptly indicates acute myocardial infarction, being for most patients equivalent to measurement of creatine kinase (EC 2.7.3.2) isoenzyme 2 (CK-2, CK-MB) in serum. Of 128 patients with a confirmed diagnosis of myocardial infarction, 66 had normal values for all "cardiac" enzymes at the time of admission, but greater than 75% of them showed a parallel increase in values for CK-2 and the LD-1/LD-2 ratio. Of the 26 patients who had one or more abnormal values for cardiac enzymes on admission, 95% showed a parallel increase in CK-2 and the LD-1/LD-2 ratio, the median time for the beginning of these changes being 9 h from the onset of chest pain. The remaining 36 patients were excluded from the study because CK-2 decreased after admission or because the time of onset of chest pain was uncertain.