Creatinfosfoquinase, known by its acronym CPK, is an enzyme that acts primarily on muscle tissue, in the brain and heart, at the request of drugs to investigate possible damage to these organs.
The doctor may order this test when the person goes to the hospital suffering from pain to check for signs of a stroke or some disease that affects the muscles, for example.
- Normal creatinfosphokinse (CPK) values range from 32 to 294 U/L for men and 33 to 211 U/L for women but may vary depending on the laboratory where the test is performed.
Creatinfosphokinase (CPK) screening is helpful in helping diagnose conditions such as heart attack, kidney or lung failure, among others, this enzyme is divided into three types depending on its location:
The measurement of each type of CK is carried out by different laboratory methods depending on their properties and according to the medical indication. When the drug CPK is requested to evaluate heart attacks, for example, it is called CPK MB in addition to measuring other cardiac markers such as myoglobin and troponin, mainly. Learn more about normal troponin values.
The value of CK MB less than 5 ng / mL is considered normal and its concentration is normally high in case of infarction CK MB levels can increase from 3 to 5 hours after a heart attack, reaching its peak in 24 hours, normalizing after 48 to 72 hours after a heart attack. Although considered a good cardiac indicator, CK MB should be measured with troponin in order to diagnose a heart attack, as troponin values are normal within 10 days of infarction, although much more specific for diagnosis.
Increased concentration of the enzyme creatinfosphokinase may indicate:
To perform CPK measurement, it is not mandatory for the person to be in the hospital, the doctor may be advised not to do so, but it is important to avoid intense physical exercise for at least 2 days before proceeding with the test, as this enzyme may be elevated after physical activity, so the muscles in production In addition to this, medication, e. g. amphotericin B and chlofibrate, which may interfere with the test result, should be discontinued.
In case the test is requested for the purpose of diagnosing a heart attack, it is recommended to evaluate the relationship between CPK MB and CPK using the following formula: 100% x (CK MB / CK total) In case the result of this ratio is greater than 6%, this means that there are injuries to the heart muscle, but the result is less than 6%, sign of skeletal muscle injuries, so the doctor should investigate the cause.