New rapid diagnosis for more accurate detection of myocardial infarction successfully tested



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What can the 1 hour test of troponin do?

Heart attack remains the leading cause of death in Germany. About 49,000 people die each year in this country. 220,000 patients are treated each year in German hospitals as a result of a heart attack. In addition, there are a large number of unreported cases because not all patients who have had a heart attack know that they have had a heart attack. Other patients, on the other hand, mistakenly think that they have an infarction without this being the case. The symptoms are not always obvious. A new rapid test aims to provide faster and safer treatment of heart attacks.

With the support of the German Heart Foundation, the German Foundation for Heart Research (DSHF) has successfully tested a new rapid test method called an hour-long troponin test to diagnose a heart attack in 1,500 patients. high risk patients. The test detects in one hour whether a heart attack is present or not. This is crucial for the subsequent treatment of those affected.

A new rapid test for the diagnosis of heart attack should help detect quickly and reliably whether or not it is a heart attack. (Image: vege / fotolia.com)

A heart attack can have many faces

As the cardiology experts from the German Foundation for Cardiology report, a heart attack can manifest itself in different ways. Many sufferers complain of burning and oppressive chest pain, coupled with a feeling of oppression. Others describe their symptoms as a radiating pain that extends from the sternum to the arms, shoulder blades, neck, jaw and upper abdomen. In addition, concomitant symptoms such as excessive sweating, nausea, and shortness of breath may occur. Some patients also have less obvious signs.

confusion

Many symptoms associated with a heart attack can also indicate other illnesses. "The more the existing disease can be diagnosed quickly and safely, the sooner the appropriate treatment can be put in place and the greater the chances of a patient's recovery," says Dr. Dr. med. med. Willibald Hochholzer in a press release on the new diagnostic method. Until now, doctors mainly used an electrocardiogram to analyze heart currents. However, this is not the key criterion to support a heart attack diagnosis.

Protein complex indicates heart damage

Heart specialists explain that a reliable diagnosis can only be made with troponin. It is a protein complex that helps the heart muscle cells to contract, thus ensuring the heart's role as a blood pump. If these muscle cells receive too little oxygen as a result of an infarction, troponin is released into the bloodstream. According to the German Foundation for the Heart, this also occurs in other damaged heart diseases, such as pulmonary embolism, septic shock or certain cardiac arrhythmias. "These patients, because of a relative lack of oxygen, also suffer a type of". infarction "without vascular occlusion, a type 2 myocardial infarction," explains Professor Hochholzer.

Every infarction requires good treatment

After the underlying cause decides the right treatment. When talking about a heart attack, one mainly hears about myocardial infarction type 1. This usually needs to be treated as quickly as possible by immediately opening the affected coronary artery with a balloon again. and implanting a stent. "The test works perfectly well to rule out a heart attack, even in high-risk patients," sums up the professor.

How does the 1 hour troponin test work?

The test measures the presence of troponin in the blood. What is known as the Troponin Diagnostic Algorithm of one hour recognizes in less than an hour whether a heart attack actually exists or not. The new test is recommended in the current guidelines of the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) for patients suspected of having a heart attack. At the present time, the test needs to be improved so that it can also differentiate a type I myocardial infarction from a type 2 myocardial infarction (Vb).

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