New Rapid Blood Test Can Quickly Detect Heart Attacks in 8 minutes: WESTCOR POC Trial

A new, quick 8-minute blood test can help identify if someone is having a heart attack. This could lead to better treatment for people with chest pain who go to emergency rooms, according to recent research shared at the ESC Congress 2024 in London.

Overcrowding in emergency departments is a major global issue that leads to more deaths and health problems. Chest pain is one of the most common reasons people are admitted to hospitals. Most patients with chest pain end up staying in the hospital longer while doctors check to see if it's a serious heart issue. However, 60-70% of the time, the chest pain turns out to be from less serious causes, like acid reflux.

To quickly assess and safely release low-risk chest pain patients, doctors use fast diagnostic methods. One key test is the high-sensitivity cardiac troponin (hs-cTn) test. This test checks for a protein called troponin in the blood, which signals heart damage if it's present.

The WESTCOR¬POC randomized clinical trial compared a new point-of-care (POC) hs-cTn test (Atellica VTLi, Siemens Healthineers) with traditional 0-hour and 1-hour central laboratory hs-cTn tests. The POC test had already been shown to be as accurate and precise as the standard central laboratory tests.

In the study, 1,494 adult patients with symptoms of possible heart issues were randomly assigned to either a new point-of-care (POC) test, which takes eight minutes, or the standard central lab test. Both groups had similar characteristics, and decisions about admitting or discharging patients were made by their doctors.

The results showed that the average time spent in the emergency department was slightly shorter for those using the POC test (174 minutes) compared to the standard test (180 minutes). For patients who were seen by a doctor within an hour, the POC test cut the emergency department stay by 15 minutes (147 minutes vs. 162 minutes).

“This simple test only requiring a drop of blood can be performed within 8 minutes without the need for a laboratory,” said author Viola Thulin from Haukeland University Hospital, Bergen, Norway. “Use of point-of-care testing on arrival at hospital has the potential to speed up earlier diagnosis or rule out heart attack and reduce the amount of time some patients spend in the emergency department.”

Reference: WESTCOR-POC - Point of care versus centralised high-sensitivity cardiac troponin in the emergency department’ was discussed during Hot Line 12 on Monday 2 September in room London.