Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 17, 2026

Myocardial Infarction and Functional Outcome Assessment in Pigs
Published on: April 25, 2014
[Clinical periodization of myocardial infarct]
Insights
This study identifies three clinical stages of myocardial infarction: necrotic, inflammatory, and adaptational. Specific lab tests and ECGs can reliably track the healing progress of heart attack patients.
Area of Science:
- Cardiology
- Pathophysiology
- Biomarkers
Context:
- Understanding the clinical progression of myocardial infarction is crucial for patient management.
- Post-mortem examinations provide a definitive correlation with clinical observations.
Purpose:
- To correlate clinical and laboratory findings with post-mortem data in myocardial infarction.
- To define distinct clinical phases of myocardial infarction.
- To identify reliable indicators for monitoring disease progression and healing.
Summary:
- The study identified three clinical periods in myocardial infarction: necrotic, inflammatory, and adaptational, based on 82 post-mortem heart examinations.
- Clinical indicators like fever, leukocytosis, MB CPK activity, and ECGs reliably mark the necrotic period.
- Blood levels of protein-carbohydrate complexes and collagen metabolites indicate inflammatory and collagenization phases, respectively.
Impact:
- Enables individualized physical activity recommendations for myocardial infarction patients.
- Provides objective monitoring of myocardial infarct healing rates.
- Suggests most patients adapt to reduced cardiac function within three months post-infarction.
Abstract:
Comparison of the clinical and laboratory tests with the findings of post-mortem examination of 82 hearts of patients who had died in different periods after the onset of the disease allowed the authors to distinguish three periods in the clinical course of myocardial infarction: necrotic, inflammatory and adaptational. Fever, leukocytosis, the time course of MB CPK activity, and the results of polyelectrode ECG are reliable indicators of the duration of the necrotic period. The content of the protein-carbohydrate complexes in the blood adequately reflect the exudative-proliferative phase, while the content of collagen metabolites in blood and urine reflect the collagenization phase of the inflammatory period. These tests allow the physical activity of each patient to be individualized under objective control over the rate of healing of the myocardial infarct. Most patients become fully adapted to life with a reduced mass of contractile myocardium three months after the onset of the disease.
Related Concept Videos
Ischemic Heart Disease: Overview
Atherosclerosis, the primary malefactor, orchestrates this dangerous condition. It manifests as the accumulation of fatty deposits, akin to insidious plaques, within arterial walls. As time elapses, these plaques metamorphose, hardening and narrowing...
Cardiac Action Potential
The cardiac action potential process involves a series of phases characterized by the movement of ions across the cardiac cell membranes, leading to the depolarization and repolarization of the cardiac myocytes.
Ionic Basis of Cardiac Action Potentials
Myocarditis I: Introduction
Myocarditis III: Medical Management
Acute Coronary Syndrome I: Introduction
Cardiomyopathy III: Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy

