Table 1

Criteria of the World Health Organization and the Joint European Society of Cardiology/American College of Cardiology

MI, myocardial infarction.
World Health Organization criteria for MI
Definite acute MI

  1. Definite ECG or

  2. Symptoms typical or atypical or inadequately described, together with probable ECG or abnormal enzymes or

  3. Symptoms typical with abnormal enzymes with ischaemic or non-codable ECG or ECG not available or

  4. Fatal case, whether sudden or not, with naked eye appearance of fresh MI, recent coronary occlusion found at necropsy, or both

Joint European Society of Cardiology/American College of Cardiology criteria
Criteria for acute, evolving, or recent MI—one of the following:

  1. Typical rise and fall of biochemical markers of myocardial necrosis with at least one of the following:

    1. ischaemic symptoms

    2. Q waves

    3. ischaemic ECG changes

    4. coronary artery intervention

  2. Pathological findings of an acute MI

Criteria for established MI—any of the following:

  1. Development of new pathological Q waves on serial ECGs

  2. Pathological findings of a healed or healing MI