New marker helps identify heart attack patients most at risk

New research published in the European Heart Journal suggests a new blood test could help detect patients who are at higher risk of cardiovascular disease after suffering a heart attack. The findings may guide scientists in identifying new targets for reducing the risk, which could lead to more effective treatments.

"We have made huge strides over the last two decades in improving prognosis following heart attacks but there is still plenty of room for further improvement," said Professor Rob Storey from the University of Sheffield’s Department of Infection, Immunity and Cardiovascular Disease, who led the study. “Our findings provide exciting clues as to why some patients are at higher risk after heart attack and how we might address this with new treatments in the future.”

In this study, Prof. Storey and colleagues analysed blood plasma samples from more than 4,300 patients with acute coronary syndrome as they were discharged from hospital. The researchers measured the maximum density of a clot and the time it took for the clot to break down – known as clot lysis time.

After adjusting for known clinical characteristics and various risk factors, the study found that the patients with the longest clot lysis time had a 40 percent increased risk of recurrent myocardial infarction or death due to cardiovascular disease.

The study results showed novel therapies targeting fibrin clot lysis time may improve prognosis in patients with acute coronary syndrome.

“We now need to press ahead with exploring possibilities for tailoring treatment to an individual’s risk following a heart attack and testing whether drugs that improve clot lysis time can reduce this risk,” according to Professor Storey, who is also Academic Director and an Honorary Consultant in the Cardiology and Cardiothoracic Surgery Directorate at the Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.

Source: University of Sheffield
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