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Serum creatine kinase (CK) MM isoforms were determined by chromatofocusing in 22 patients with acute myocardial infarction undergoing intracoronary thrombolysis. In 13 patients with successful coronary recanalization within 3.6 +/- 1.0 (SD) h after onset, time to peak CK activity occurred 13 +/- 3 h after onset which was significantly shorter (p less than 0.01) than that in 9 patients without coronary recanalization (20 +/- 4 h). The proportion of CK MM-A, the myocardial isoform, in serum in the reperfused group at 6, 10, and 14 h after onset (53 +/- 9, 38 +/- 5, and 27 +/- 4%, respectively) was always significantly lower (p less than 0.01) than that in the nonreperfused group (69 +/- 7, 59 +/- 8, and 43 +/- 4%). During the same period, the proportions of CK MM-B and CK MM-C, the converted isoforms derived intravascularly from MM-A by circulating carboxypeptidase, in the reperfused group were always significantly higher (p less than 0.01) than those in the nonreperfused group. The ratios of MM-A% to MM-B% and MM-A% to MM-C% amplified the differences between the two groups. At 10 h after onset, these ratios clearly differentiated the reperfused and the nonreperfused group at the values of 1.0 (MM-A/MM-B) and 3.0 (MM-A/MM-C) with the diagnostic sensitivity of 85% and 92%, respectively. Thus, myocardial reperfusion was detectable noninvasively by analysis of serum CK MM isoforms during the early stage of acute myocardial infarction.