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A first-of-its-kind trial found that a sensitive blood test in A&E could improve the diagnosis of one in five patients with heart muscle damage. This trial, which we funded and published today in the BMJ, will help doctors better diagnose and treat these patients, reducing deaths and future heart attacks in this group to almost 10% in five years. It was found that there was a decrease in percentage.
The trial, led by Professor Nicholas Mills from the University of Edinburgh, showed that the new test – an updated version of a test that detects levels of a protein in the blood called troponin – is effective. It could potentially identify more patients with heart muscle damage. As a result, the better care they received reduced future heart attack and death rates.
While the new test led to improvements in heart attack patients, those who benefited the most were patients with heart muscle damage caused by other heart conditions, such as heart failure, heart valve conditions, or heart arrhythmias. The researchers found that future hospitalizations and deaths were reduced by nearly 10 percent in these patients over the five years after receiving the new test, compared with those who received older, less sensitive tests.
subtle warning signs
Modern tests measure very low levels of troponin in the blood much more accurately than older versions of the test. Troponin is released into the blood during a heart attack or when the heart is damaged by other heart diseases. Doctors have used various troponin blood tests for many years to diagnose these symptoms in people with chest pain and related symptoms.
To assess whether the introduction of the new test had brought about any improvement, researchers looked at approximately 50,000 patients who arrived at 10 emergency departments across Scotland with suspected heart attacks between 2013 and 2016. The results were studied in humans. They used routinely collected health record data and pioneering data services. – DataLoch – All participants will be followed for 5 years.
Using the new test, more than 10,000 patients had high troponin levels indicating heart damage. Hers, about 1 in 5 of these patients, was only discovered with the new test, because sensitive tests pick up more subtle warning signs.
look deeper
By identifying undetected and untreated heart damage in patients, researchers can help more people get the specialized heart care they need to avoid more serious problems in the future. I’m thinking of doing that.
Dr Ken Lee, Clinical Lecturer in Cardiology at the University of Edinburgh and lead author of the study, said:
“In the past, clinicians could have been falsely reassured by the results of less sensitive troponin tests and discharged patients who appeared to have no heart disease.
“This new, highly sensitive test is the tool they needed, encouraging them to look deeper and helping them identify and treat both heart attacks and less obvious heart conditions. In our trial. , the introduction of this test has significantly reduced the number of future heart attacks and deaths seen in this at-risk group.”
ahead of the curve
This improvement is now likely to be seen across the UK, rather than being limited to the 10 Scottish hospitals currently taking part in the study. The UK has already widely rolled out this new test to emergency departments across the country and is now ahead of the curve when it comes to detecting heart attacks and heart damage.
Our Medical Director, Professor Sir Naresh Samani, said:
“Medical professionals in emergency departments need the most efficient and accurate tools to care for people. This is especially true for people who come in with a suspected heart attack. Life-threatening conditions require the best diagnostic tests.
“It’s very encouraging to see that the new test trialled here can more accurately predict long-term outcomes in these patients, whether they have a heart attack or another type of heart damage. This could lead to improved care for patients.”
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