A new, highly sensitive blood test in emergency rooms could help better diagnose and treat heart attacks, reducing the risk of future attacks or death, researchers say.
A new test for troponin, a protein released into the blood after a heart injury, could reduce future heart attacks by 10% in at-risk patients after five years, a study led by the University of Edinburgh found.
The new test was more accurate than older versions, the researchers said, and the biggest beneficiaries were patients with heart muscle damage caused by conditions such as heart failure, heart valve disease and arrhythmias.
To determine the effectiveness of the tests, the research team examined the test results of almost 50,000 people who visited a doctor with a suspected heart attack across Scotland between 2013 and 2016.
Using the new test, the team found that more than 10,000 patients had elevated levels of troponin, which indicates heart damage.
“It is very encouraging to see that the new test we tried here is a better predictor of long-term outcome in these patients, regardless of whether they have had a heart attack or other type of heart damage,” said lead study author Dr Ken Lee, clinical lecturer in cardiology at the University of Edinburgh.
2023-12-01 03:47:00
#simple #test #reduce #risk #heart #attack #death
