This invention relates to a diagnostic tests and devices for conducting such tests at the point of care or in a diagnostic laboratory for accurate, simple, and rapid assessment of chest pain. In particular, the invention relates to differential diagnosis of the origin of chest pain, e.g., whether the pain is cardiac in origin, and for differentiating between unstable angina ('UA'), myocardial infarction ('MI'), congestive heart failure ('CHF'), and other ischemic events affecting the heart, at early onset of patient chest pain. The invention further relates to diagnosis of the stage of the MI in a patient suffering from MI, and to prognosis of such a patient. The present invention allows for the rapid, accurate, and sensitive diagnosis of a cardiac ischemic event in a patient complaining of chest pain, and determination of whether the event is unstable angina or myocardial infarction, by detecting the presence or absence of increased levels of at least three, and preferably four, biochemical markers present in blood or a blood fraction (serum, plasma) from a patient. The biochemical markers are heart proteins released during the ischemia. Release of different proteins occurs at different times and with different levels of ischemia.
Method and device for diagnosing and distinguishing chest pain in early onset thereof