A revolutionary new measure of testing troponin in the blood can now more easily determine a patient's risk of a heart attack inside a period of 30 days.
Dr. Anoop Shah of the University of Edinburgh relates that their research has enabled them to define the level of concentration of the cardiac troponin in the blood that would indicate a heart attack risk. Those with higher concentration will require immediate care. Patients with a low concentration of this protein are at a low risk during their hospital stay or for the next 30 days.
He says, "These patients are therefore potentially suitable for immediate and safe discharge from the emergency department. These findings could dramatically reduce unnecessary hospital admissions and provide substantial cost savings for healthcare providers."
Dr. Shah further states,"Until now there were no quick ways to rule out a heart attack within the emergency department."
This study funded by the British Heart Foundation and published in the Lancet medical journal administered the test on over 6,000 patients in four hospitals in both Scotland and the US on troponin levels. Of these, 61% had less than five nano grams per decilitre of troponin in their blood. Based on this measure the patients from this group are 99.6% likely to be at minimal risk of a heart attack.
According to the BBC, while the more common complaint of visitors to the A&E ward of the UK is acute chest pain, many of these cases are not serious medical cases. Research published in The Lancet pegs A&E admissions of this nature at one million. While in the past, cardiac care patients have to be tested twice for troponin upon admission and 12 hours after, the new test will only need to be administered once.
