Cardiac pentathlon often refers to the cardiac enzyme pentathlon test, and may also refer to troponin, cardiac enzyme profile, brain natriuretic peptide, electrocardiogram, and cardiac color Doppler ultrasound, which are the five commonly used tests for cardiac diseases.
1. Cardiac enzyme pentathlon refers to creatine kinase, creatine kinase isoenzyme, lactate dehydrogenase, aspartate aminotransferase, and alpha-hydroxybutyrate dehydrogenase. Under normal circumstances, these enzymes exist in cardiomyocytes. When the cardiomyocytes are damaged by ischemia, the enzymes are released into the blood, resulting in an increase in the expression level of cardiac enzymes in the blood, which is commonly seen in acute myocardial infarction, viral myocarditis, and so on.
2. Among the commonly used cardiac checkups, troponin and cardiac enzymes are used to check whether there is damage to cardiomyocytes (myocardial infarction, myocarditis); brain natriuretic peptide (BNP) is an indicator for detecting the function of cardiac muscle, and if BNP is significantly elevated, it means that heart failure may occur.
Electrocardiogram (ECG) is generally used to check coronary heart disease, arrhythmia, and myocardial ischemia, etc., mainly reflecting myocardial electrical activity and impulse conduction; cardiac color Doppler ultrasound can check whether there is any change in the structure of the heart, such as the size of heart chambers and the closure of valves.
Overall, the five cardiac tests, no matter whether they are checking the five cardiac enzymes or the five commonly used tests, are all indicators reflecting whether the heart is healthy or not, and need to be examined under the guidance of specialists, and the specific results of the tests need to be diagnosed by specialized doctors.