Researchers have developed a faster protocol for diagnosing myocardial infarctions (MIs) in emergency departments using a simple, inexpensive blood test.
A study by researchers with the US Department of Veterans Affairs published in the September 15 American Journal of Cardiology found that their new protocol could rule out an MI in 90 minutes compared with the 6- to 24-hour wait necessary with existing methods. The new protocol led to a 40% drop in critical care admissions and a 20% decrease in overall hospital admissions.
The blood test, approved last year by the US Food and Drug Administration, takes 15 minutes and is repeated three or four times. It simultaneously checks the blood levels of three cardiac enzymes—troponin I, creatine kinase–MB, and myoglobin—that are released by distressed heart tissue during an MI. The study results showed that the blood test was 100% accurate in ruling out the occurrence of . . . [Full Text of this Article]
