Australian researchers develop an early warning system for heart attacks

Australian scientists have developed an "early warning system" that can alert doctors about an imminent heart attack and provide them with tools that can prevent it.

The system has been shown to be effective in mice. is a strong expectation that it will translate to humans. Tests in humans are being prepared.

This first global study conducted by the Victor Chang Cardiac Research Institute is published in the first cardiovascular medical journal, European Heart Journal.

Every year, 54,000 Australians suffer a heart attack and 8,600 die. This means that on average, heart attacks cost almost an hour to the Australian.

This warning system has two stages. The first is to detect the problem, and the researchers have found a way to turn it on as a neon sign.

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The underlying cause of a heart attack is a plaque buildup composed of fat and inflammatory cells within the arteries of the heart

. Some of these plaques are "unstable" and vulnerable to rupture, resulting in the formation of a clot that blocks blood flow to the heart.

This causes a heart attack.

For decades, an international effort has been aimed at trying to distinguish between dangerous plaques likely to break, "Angiography is the current gold standard for coronary imaging, and although it is 39, she can accurately define the arterial narrowing … ” width=”620″/>

Using a highly sophisticated mouse model, Professor Roland Stocker and his team at the Victor Chang Institute discovered that the activity of an inflammatory enzyme, myeloperoxidase, is significantly higher in unstable plates.

They demonstrated that, after injecting a chemical probe into the bloodstream, an MRI can be used with precision and selectivity to identify the presence of dangerous plaques in the coronary arteries.

As a neon sign, the probe highlights increased activity of myeloperoxidase. This makes them easily visible on an MRI

This has never been done before and this will warn doctors that they must intervene.

"We now have the potential tools to specifically identify people at high risk of heart attack using noninvasive MRI to detect vascular inflammation," explains Professor Stocker, Chief of Vascular Biology. 19659003] "In addition to leading a healthy life, this early warning system could be our best defense against heart attacks, many of which can be life threatening."

"Identify to whom and when heart attacks will occur remains a holy grail The second step was to try to stabilize the plaque to prevent it from breaking.

The team investigated whether a high enzymatic activity caused the destabilization of plaque and Professor Stocker stated that the results were "really exciting!"

"When we administered a drug that inhibited the activity of myeloperoxidase, we discovered that 39, it stabilized the plaque making its lining more robust and less likely to break. "

" There was also a decrease in bleeding and coagulation in the arterial wall beneath the plaque. "

He says the next steps are to adjust the chemical MRI probe for human use and conduct clinical trials to confirm the utility of imaging techniques and inhibitors to identify and treat Led by the Victor Chang Institute, this study was an international collaboration involving the Melbourne Baker Heart and Diabetes Institute, the University of New South Wales, the National University of Singapore, and the University. from Otago.

"This is a discovery that Australians should be very proud of," says Professor Bob Graham, executive director of the Victor Chang Institute.

"The MRI imaging technique could be the first non-invasive method to provide information on coronary arteries. plaque activity, allowing researchers to potentially diagnose those who are at risk for a heart attack. "

" Angiography is the current gold standard of coronary imaging, and although it can accurately define arterial narrowing, it falls short and can not identify any abnormalities. Other characteristics of the high risk plate. "

He says that translating new tools into the clinic will take time and funding, which is currently being sought

* Jill Margo a director of the Victor Chang Heart Research Institute