The doctors will be doing a series of blood draws over several hours to measure cardiac enzymes which can help determine damage to cardiac muscle and possible myocardial infarction (heart attack).
from American Heart Association:
“Blood tests confirm (or refute) suspicions raised in the early stages of evaluation typically in an emergency room, intensive care unit or urgent care setting. Such tests are sometimes called heart damage markers or cardiac enzymes.
The blood test most commonly used to confirm the existence of heart muscle damage is the creatine kinase (KREE’ah-teen KI’nas), or CK for short. A small fraction of the CK enzyme, CK-MB, is often measured as well. CK-MB shows an increase above normal in a person’s blood test about six hours after the start of a heart attack. It reaches its peak level in about 18 hours and returns to normal in 24 to 36 hours. The peak level and the return to normal can be delayed in a person who’s had a large heart attack, especially if they don’t get early and aggressive treatment.”
mark
Actually nobody uses the CK anymore. There is a much more specific test called a troponin. These tests are used when the physician is unsure of the cause of the chest pain and it is not likely to be cardiac.
If there is a high liklihood of cardiac pain based on the initial assessment and EKG, the test of choice is to procede directely to the cath lab for coronary angiography. (heart catheterization)