Simple Test Predicts Life After A Heart Attack Episode

Researchers have developed a simple test that can predict life after a heart attack, reports say. The new test paves way for early diagnosis and consequently treatment to reduce the possibilities of developing heart failure and improve quality of living, the Herald Sun reports.

The study, performed by researchers at the University of Glasgow, uses a wire that responds sensitively to pressure and temperature and is used to accurately determine the level of injury on surrounding heart vessels. This technique helps find out how damaged the arteries are in the shortest time.

The new wire test will help doctors identify those who have high chances of developing heart failure following an episode of heart attack based on arterial damage. The test also known as index of microvascular resistance, or IMR, as reports say, can predict if the person will have heart failure in the future or die.

According to cardiologist and lead researcher Colin Berry of the University of Glasgow, heart attacks usually lead to heart failure and is considered a major problem in the U.K. The condition “has a huge impact not only on the individual but on the families and carers of those suffering,” he said in the Herald Sun report.

While Berry believes that the condition greatly affects communities, he is grateful for the results of the study, which is funded by the British Heart Foundation, or BHF. Berry said in his statement that 70 percent of heart attack victims can now survive. “However, this means we now see an increased number of people surviving but left with damaged hearts and heart failure,” Berry said.

BHF associate medical director Jeremy Pearson said that increasingly more people are able to survive heart attack episodes due to improvements seen in cardiology, but admits that it “isn’t the end of the story.” Pearson said that the damage caused by heart attack can leave a person with daily struggles.

However, the new wire test can be a tool to identify people who are placed in greater risk of heart failure after a heart attack. With that, treatment can be given more quickly, ultimately reducing the effects that it has on individuals and communities, sources report.

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