Assessing the risk of a major adverse cardiac event in patients with chest pain

A method of assessing the risk of requiring medical intervention in a patient who is presenting with chest pain, comprising

• characterizing the levels of myeloperoxidase activity, myeloperoxidase mass, or both, respectively in the bodily sample from the human patient, wherein said bodily sample is blood or a blood derivative,
• wherein a patient whose levels of myeloperoxidase activity, mycloperoxidase mass, or both is characterized as being elevated in comparison to levels of myeloperoxidase activity, myeloperoxidase mass or both in a comparable bodily samples obtained from individuals in a control population is at risk of requiring medical intervention to prevent the occurrence of an adverse cardiac event within the next six months.

A method of determining whether a patient who presents with chest pain is at risk of requiring medical intervention to prevent an adverse cardiac event within the next six months comprising:

• comparing the level of a risk predictor in a bodily sample from the subject with a value that is based on the level of said risk predictor in comparable samples from a control population, wherein said risk predictor is myeloperoxidase activity, myeloperoxidase mass, a myeloperoxidase-generated oxidation product, or any combination thereof, and wherein said bodily sample is blood, serum, plasma, or urine,
• wherein a subject whose bodily sample contains elevated levels of said risk predictor as compared to the control value is at risk of requiring medical intervention to prevent an adverse cardiac event within 6 months of presenting with chest pain, and
• wherein the difference between the level of the risk predictor in the patient's bodily sample and the level of the risk predictor in a comparable bodily sample from the control population establishes the extent of the risk to the subject of requiring medical intervention to prevent an adverse cardiac event within the next six months.