A new device designed to accurately and quickly sense whether a cardiac arrest patient also has a blocked heart valve that requires emergency treatment is currently being tested in Seattle.
Cardiologists and emergency physicians at Harbourview Medical Center in Seattle are testing the Tropsensor, which is designed to detect troponin levels within 3-5 minutes of being worn on a patient’s wrist.
Troponin, a protein found in the heart muscle, appears in the bloodstream when heart damage occurs and an artery is blocked, indicating a heart attack. Staff were able to treat this serious condition as quickly as possible.
Triage for this condition currently includes an electrocardiogram (ECG), which may be less accurate in patients who have had cardiac arrest, and a troponin blood test, which is used in sick patients to provide pathological results. You can waste precious time waiting.
“Early recognition of acute coronary artery occlusion may allow rapid restoration of blood flow to the heart, improving short- and long-term outcomes for patients with unrecognized heart attacks. said Dr. Graham Nichol, an emergency physician at the university. He received his PhD from the Washington College of Medicine and served as Director of the Prehospital Emergency Medical Center in Harborview.
Dr. Nicol, who is overseeing the trial, added that the device could also be used on patients who came to the hospital complaining of chest pain to identify dangerous blockages.
Cardiac arrest involves an electrical malfunction that causes the heart to stop, but some patients who have been resuscitated and taken to hospital have had heart attacks due to blocked arteries. literally means the difference between life and death.
In the Tropsensor study, 30 patients tested the wrist device, the results will be studied over time, and the results of the trial will be published next year, Dr. Nichol said.
Source: University of Washington
