Myocardial infarction is defined pathologically as myocyte necrosis due to prolonged ischaemia. These conditions are met when there is a detection of a rise and/or fall of cardiac biomarkers, preferably troponins, with at least one value above the 99th percentile of the upper reference limit, together with evidence of myocardial ischaemia, as recognized by at least one of the following: symptoms of ischaemia, electrocardiographic changes of new ischaemia, the development of pathological Q waves, imaging evidence of a new loss of viable myocardium or new regional wall motion abnormality, or the identification of an intracoronary thrombus by angiography or autopsy.