Issue 180 Item 12 New Test Discovered to Identify Death and Heart Attack Risk in

The Cleveland Clinic reports that its researchers have developed a new blood test to find if a person is in danger of a heart attack or death. This test is especially valuable for identifying at-risk patients not recognized by current diagnostic laboratory testing.
The new blood test measures levels of myeloperoxidase (MPO), an enzyme found in white blood cells. Earlier research conducted by the Cleveland Clinic found that an elevated MPO level in white blood cells can indicate a person’s risk for having heart disease. The test has the ability to determine if a high MPO level in plasma can identify people at increased risk for heart attack, in need of bypass surgery or angioplasty, or at increased risk for cardiac death within six months of being presented to the emergency room with chest pain. Physicians use other measures of arterial inflammation, including C-reactive protein (CRP), that also aid in gauging the risk of cardiac events. In head-to-head comparisons in the emergency room setting, CRP testing demonstrated much less efficacy vs MPO.

According to the news release, the results of the study are based on 604 patients who arrived at the emergency room after the beginning of chest pain. MPO levels at that time were found to be significantly higher in those who were experiencing a heart attack and in those who experienced a heart attack or stroke, required bypass surgery or angioplasty, or died within six months after a visit to the emergency room. washingtonpost