Patent ID: 7732214

Claim:
A method for differentiating between an acute cardiovascular event and chronic heart failure comprising the steps of: a. determining an amount of a cardiac troponin in a sample from a human subject, b. determining an amount of a natriuretic peptide in a sample from said subject, and c. differentiating between an acute cardiovascular event and chronic heart failure by comparing the amounts determined in steps a) and b) with reference amounts, wherein a reference amount for the cardiac troponin between and including 0.01 ng/ml and 3.5 ng/ml and a reference amount for the natriuretic peptide of at least 500 pg/ml are indicative for chronic heart failure, and wherein a reference amount for the cardiac troponin of greater than 0.01 ng/ml and a reference amount for the natriuretic peptide of less than 500 pg/ml are indicative for an acute cardiovascular event or wherein a reference amount for the cardiac trononin of at least 3.5 ng/ml and a reference amount of the natriuretic peptide of at least 500 pg/ml are indicative for an acute cardiovascular event.