He expects more medical centers to adopt the technology rapidly. Keffer presented a set of practice guidelines for biochemical markers to hospitals across the nation via a teleconference in May. Markers are molecules that leak from the heart into the blood when a heart attack occurs. Conventional tests, such as electrophoresis, long used in hospitals, may take as long as 10 to 12 hours to recognize a definite rise in the level of blood enzymes caused by cardiac arrest, while troponin may be detected in one to two hours after the patient arrives in the emergency room. There is no question about this, and evidence continues to build in support of this assertion.
Time is critical in preventing damage to the heart muscle.
Keffer said the new marker also appears to be more accurate than other tests. This marker differs from others because the protein that is measured by the test is unique to the heart muscle. Consequently, whenever it is found in the blood, it is clear evidence of some type of heart-muscle problem. When a patient arrives at an emergency room complaining of chest pain or other discomfort that might signal a heart attack, the physician asks the patient a number of specific questions and begins running a series of tests. Blood that is drawn and sent to the clinical laboratory is analyzed by pathologists.