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A defective blood test, widely used by the NHS, can wrongly diagnose thousands of patients with a heart attack
- Test measures troponin – a protein released during a heart attack
- The researchers badyzed thousands of patients receiving treatment at the hospital
- They discovered that one in 20 had abnormally high troponin levels
- However, the majority of these showed no signs of infarction.
By
Stephen Matthews health editor for Mailonline
published:
6:30 pm EDT, March 13, 2019
|
Update:
6:42 pm EDT, March 13, 2019
Thousands of patients may be misdiagnosed with heart attacks in NHS hospitals because of an imperfect test.
A blood test for troponin – a protein released into the bloodstream during a heart attack – is commonly used in emergencies to check if a person has suffered a heart attack.
The researchers badyzed thousands of patients receiving treatment at the hospital and found that an abnormally high troponin level in one in 20.
However, the majority of these showed no signs of infarction, despite test results suggesting that they had done so.
Cardiologists are now concerned that many patients will be misdiagnosed and needlessly undergo invasive surgery.
The researchers badyzed thousands of patients receiving treatment at the hospital and found that an abnormally high troponin level in one in 20. However, the majority of these showed no signs of being treated. infarction, despite the results of their tests suggesting that they
The NHS guidelines recommend that patients undergo a procedure to widen an artery almost immediately to increase their chances of survival.
Every year in the UK, approximately 190,000 people have a heart attack, known as myocardial infarction, according to estimates.
A heart attack, different from that of a cardiac arrest, occurs when there is an arterial blockage of the organ. The main symptom is chest pain.
Current guidelines recommend troponin tests to help rule out or diagnose a heart attack. They are not used as the sole diagnostic method.
The researchers badyzed the troponin levels of 20,000 patients who underwent blood tests at Southampton University Hospital for three months.
Just over five percent of patients had a troponin level greater than 40 ng / L, considered an indicator of a heart attack.
However, most patients were treated and evaluated by hospital staff for other problems and did not show any obvious signs of a heart attack.
Professor Nick Curzen, author of the study, published in the British Medical Journal, hopes the findings will prevent thousands of people from being misdiagnosed.
WHAT IS A CARDIAC CREAM?
A heart attack occurs when the blood supply to the heart is suddenly blocked.
Symptoms include chest pain, shortness of breath and a feeling of weakness and anxiety.
Heart attacks are usually caused by coronary heart disease.
Coronary artery disease can be caused by smoking, high blood pressure and diabetes.
The treatment usually consists of a drug intended to dissolve the clots of blots or to a surgical intervention to eliminate the blockage.
Reduce your risk by not smoking, exercising regularly and drinking in moderation.
Source: NHS Choice
He added that medical staff should "interpret troponin levels with caution in order to avoid any misdiagnosis of a heart attack and inappropriate treatment".
Professor Curzen added: "Si it is measured in patients without clbadical heart attack, the level may appear high.
"And these patients may end up being wrongly diagnosed as having a heart attack.
"They could then receive inappropriate, potentially dangerous treatment outside of this context."
A heart attack is the main suspicion when the patient's troponin levels are abnormally high or above the 99th percentile.
The 99th percentile of troponin in all patients in the study was 296 ng / L, seven times more than what is currently considered an indicator of heart attack.
Professor Sir Nilesh Samani, medical director of the British Heart Foundation, also urged doctors not to badume that troponin levels are reduced to a heart attack.
He said: "Troponin measurements are widely used in patients suspected of having a heart attack because troponin is released from the heart when it is damaged.
"However, the heart can release troponin when a patient is suffering from other conditions and does not necessarily result from a heart attack."
"As this study points out, a positive test should not always be interpreted as due to a heart attack."
Sir Nilesh added: "Other information should be taken into account – for example, the symptoms of a patient and the results of other tests, including an ECG."
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