Researchers said they are close to having a test that could help to predict if a patient is close to having a heart attack. The test uses a blood sample to determine if cells have sloughed off the walls of a damaged blood vessel.
Wednesday their findings were published. Physicians are able to detect quite easily a heart attack that is in progress however, every year there are thousands of patients who pass a stress test and then suffer a heart attack just a few week later.
The technique tracks a cell in the body’s bloodstream known as a circulating endothelial cell. These cells form a wrapper, which lines blood vessel walls. When a vessel becomes damaged, the cells fall away and enter the body’s bloodstream. In a healthy person, there are hardly any of these cells circulating in the blood. However, in someone with just a small cholesterol buildup the cells will breakaway and enter the blood stream and can cause potentially deadly blockages.
These cells can build up and cause a deadly heart attack says researchers since they can form blockages and create blood clots. If doctors can determine that the endothelial cells are damaged before a clot has had time to form, then the doctors could predict that a heart attack or stroke could be on the way.
