New breakthrough heart attack tests now on market.
A recently developed test is going to provide doctors with a significant advantage in diagnosing patients who are most likely to suffer a heart attack.
The test will cut down on the number of patients who until now have been admitted to hospital unnecessarily, thus allowing G.P.’s to attend to patients who are more needy of their help.
It is a common sight to see casualty departments in hospitals receiving patients who have experienced serious pains in their chest. Of course it is fairly obvious to diagnose the most serious cases and provide the necessary treatment and admittance. Just as obvious are the cases which pose no threat whatsoever where the chest pain has nothing to do with the heart. However, the biggest problem for hospitals all over the country is diagnosing that collection of patients who are in the middle of the two previous groups. Usually these patients would be admitted overnight whilst the hospital carries out tests and reaches a diagnosis.
Fatty Acid Binding Protein More Accurate Than Troponin
As of today the test used most frequently is the Troponin test. This is a diagnostic tool which spots heart injury and can differentiate between this and purely pains in the chest. The patient knows they have injured their heart if traces of troponin proteins are found in their bloodstream. Unfortunately, this particular test is not 100% positive which leaves the hospital potentially admitting someone who is not ill and discharging someone who could be critical.
The new test looks for a Fatty Acid Binding Protein which has been released into the blood’s circulation and determines whether or not there has been any myocardial ischemia. This is a tremendous breakthrough as the Fatty Acid Binding Protein test can detect milder forms of injury to the heart and also spot them earlier whereas the previous tests only detected cell death.
The Fatty Acid Binding Protein test is going to have a huge effect by enabling heart attack patients to receive the correct diagnosis and treatment and ultimately save far more lives. The Fatty Acid Binding Protein test will also allow doctors to identify patients who are potentially at risk of suffering a heart attack, months in advance, thus giving them the time to reduce the risk with prevention procedure.
Emergency Services To Benefit From Fatty Acid Binding Protein Test
Emergency services will find the Fatty Acid Binding Protein test useful in situations where they can establish whether or not a patient needs to be admitted to hospital or can indeed be allowed home. The test will provide fantastic benefits for patients and their carers.
At the moment G.P.’s have to base their prognosis on the results of surgery machines such as electrocardiogram machines and simple blood tests to establish whether a patient has suffered from a heart attack, whereas in the future the new Fatty Acid Binding Protein test will establish from a very early stage whether heart damage has occurred. If as expected, the Fatty Acid Binding Protein test proves to be a far superior tool than the Troponin, it has the potential to save thousands of lives and become the breakthrough of this century.
