New blood test to diagnose heart attacks

Washington: A possible new blood test based on the presence of a protein released after a heart attack, could help diagnose an attack, new research suggests.

Loyola University scientists said cMyBP-C (cardiac myosin binding protein-C) is a large protein. "This (cMyBP-C) potentially could become the basis for a new test, used in conjunction with other blood tests, to help diagnose heart attacks," said study author Sakthivel Sadayappan, assistant professor in molecular physiology. "A lot of additional studies will be necessary to establish cMyBP-C as a true biomarker for heart attacks," Sadayappan said. Sadayappan co-authored the study with Suresh Govindan, postdoctoral researcher in Sadayappan`s lab, the Journal of Molecular and Cellular Cardiology reports. The Loyola study is the first to find that cMyBP-C is associated with heart attacks. Its large molecular size helps quick detection in blood test, according to a Loyola statement. Between 60 and 70 percent of all patients who complain of chest pain don`t have heart attacks. Many of them are hospitalized until a heart attack is ruled out. An electrocardiogram can diagnose major heart attacks but not minor ones. Only one protein, now used in blood tests, called cardiac troponin-I, is specific to the heart. But it takes at least four to six hours for this protein to show up in the blood following a heart attack. IANS