Methods for the detection and monitoring of acute myocardial infarction

A prognostic method for determining a likelihood of a future myocardial infarction in an individual diagnosed as having had a myocardial infarction, comprising

• directly or indirectly measuring a peak acute myocardial infarction level of a caspase-3 proteolytic fragment in a blood sample taken from the individual during the acute phase of myocardial infarction, wherein the caspase-3 proteolytic fragment is the p17 or the p12 fragment,
• directly or indirectly measuring a post-myocardial infarction level of the caspase-3 proteolytic fragment in a blood sample taken at least one week post-myocardial infarction,
• comparing the peak acute myocardial infarction level and the post-myocardial infarction level of the caspase-3 proteolytic fragment to a control level of the caspase-3 proteolytic fragment, and
• predicting the likelihood of future myocardial infarction, left ventricular dysfunction, death in the individual diagnosed as having had a myocardial infarction when an elevated peak acute myocardial infarction level compared to the control level of the caspase-3 proteolytic fragment and an elevated post-myocardial infarction level compared to the control level of the caspase-3 proteolytic fragment are observed, and the elevated peak acute myocardial infarction level compared to the control level of the caspase-3 proteolytic fragment is higher than the elevated post-myocardial infarction level compared to the control level of the caspase-3 proteolytic fragment, wherein an elevated peak acute myocardial infarction level of the caspase-3 proteolytic fragment is at least 30% greater than the control level of the caspase-3 proteolytic fragment.