Cardiac Biomarkers and Clinical Decision Making

New video discusses the importance of cardiac biomarkers

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In this video, hear from a former operating engineer at the White House who, despite an active lifestyle and basic good health, experienced sudden heart failure. In the context of his healthcare journey, the video highlights the role of cardiac biomarkers in clinical decision making and the diagnosis of a heart attack.

Diagnosed with advanced coronary artery disease, the patient underwent cardiac bypass surgery and was enrolled in a biomarker study during his postoperative course of treatment. “There’s no doubt that biomarkers have completely transformed how we care for our patients in cardiovascular medicine,” says the patient’s cardiologist.

High troponin levels may account for mental stress ischemia in cardiac patients.

Some people with heart disease experience a restriction of blood flow to the heart in response to psychological stress. Usually silent (not painful), the temporary restriction in blood flow, called ischemia, is an indicator of greater mortality risk.

Cardiologists at Emory University School of Medicine have discovered that people in this group tend to have higher levels of troponin -- a protein whose presence in the blood that is a sign of recent damage to the heart muscle-- all the time, independently of whether they are experiencing stress or chest pain at that moment.

The results are scheduled for presentation by cardiology research fellow Muhammad Hammadah, MD at the American College of Cardiology meeting in Chicago on April 3, as part of the Young Investigator Awards competition. Hammadah works with Arshed Quyyumi, MD, and Viola Vaccarino, MD, PhD, and colleagues at the Emory Clinical Cardiovascular Research Institute.

"Elevated troponin levels in patients with coronary artery disease may be a sign that they are experiencing repeated ischemic events in everyday life, with either psychological or physical triggers," Hammadah says.

Video source: High troponin levels may account for mental stress ischemia in cardiac patients.

Sourse: newsmedia.tasnimnews