Of absolute vital importance to the victim of a suspected heart attack is swift diagnosis, within a few hours at most. British doctors say running checks for one specific protein promises to cut the diagnosis time in half.
According to their report in New Scientist magazine, the doctors in Newcastle are studying a substance called fatty acid binding protein that could serve as a sort of measuring stick. By testing for a rise in levels of this protein, they say, doctors should be able to confirm a heart attack within three hours.
With the existing system of blood checks, a firm diagnosis takes about six hours. This is all too often too long.
The Newcastle doctors say they are developing a test for the binding protein that should help some patients get potentially life-saving treatment quicker. It also might allow others to avoid therapy that might harm them, they add.
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