Final answer:
Physicians monitor a patient's enzyme levels to assess heart muscle health and detect if a heart attack has occurred. Changes in blood levels of heart enzymes over time can indicate heart muscle health or damage. Enzymes released by dying heart cells can indicate a heart attack.
Step-by-step explanation:
Physicians monitor a patient's enzyme levels if they suspect a heart attack because changes over time in blood levels of heart enzymes indicate heart muscle health. When heart cells die, their enzymes indicate a heart attack has occurred. Living heart cells slough off high quantities of enzymes into the bloodstream. Additionally, before a heart attack, heart enzyme levels are higher in the bloodstream than in the heart muscle tissue.
Learn more about Monitoring enzyme levels in suspected heart attack