A new blood test being developed to diagnose heart attacks could one day be carried out on a simple handheld device, giving a rapid diagnosis in A&E departments without the need for samples to be sent to a lab, according to new research presented today at the British Cardiovascular Society conference in Manchester. The new test uses similar technology to the troponin test, but analyses the level of a protein called cardiac myosin-binding protein C (c-MyC). Levels of c-MyC in the blood increase more rapidly after a heart attack, and to a higher extent, than troponin, meaning that the test can rule out a heart attack in a higher proportion of patients straight away.The international team, part-funded by us, took blood from 776 patients traveling to hospital by ambulance in Denmark.
Researchers based at King’s College London then tested these samples for c-MyC protein. In patients who…
