Who will develop complications such as heart failure or has a greater chance of death after an acute heart attack and who will not? Thanks to a new measuring method for small blood vessels, devised and researched at Catharina Hospital in Eindhoven, this can now be answered accurately.
The research by Rob Eerdekens, Mohamed El Farissi and Frederik Zimmermann has been published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology. This happened at the same time as the research presentation at a major conference in Paris. With the newly applied measurement method, a so-called MRR (medical readiness review) measurement, the function of the small blood vessels of the heart can be specifically examined.
And this is important, because although health care after a heart attack has improved significantly in recent decades, some patients still develop heart failure or die within a few years. Predicting which patients will develop these types of dangerous complications in the long term is very difficult. The small blood vessels play a crucial role.
Essential
“The MRR measurement turned out to be able to accurately predict which patients will develop complications and therefore also which patients will have a good outcome. This makes this an essential step to stay ahead of these dangerous complications”, cardiologist in training and researcher Eerdekens says. The MRR measurement was developed in 2020 by cardiologist Nico Pijls, also affiliated with Catharina Hospital.
El Farissi, cardiologist and researcher, continues: “The small blood vessels of the heart are damaged during a myocardial infarction and play a crucial role in the development of later complications. Existing measurement methods of the small blood vessels are influenced by abnormalities in the large blood vessels and can therefore give a clouded picture”.
An MRR measurement is performed with a pressure and temperature sensor in the coronary artery and specifically examines the function of the small blood vessels. El Farissi: “The great thing is that it is a relatively simple measurement that can be used worldwide”.
International
In the international study, 446 patients were followed for several years after a heart attack. “We absolutely hope that we will be able to save lives through this study in the long term”, cardiologist Zimmermann says. “We now know better which patient needs extra attention from the start. An important next step is now to investigate whether patients with an abnormal MRR measurement benefit from additional treatments to improve the prognosis”.
New studies probably focus more on the small blood vessels, Eerdekens thinks. “The angioplasty treatment takes place in a larger blood vessel, the coronary artery. The closed blood vessel is opened and the problem is often resolved relatively easily. We are very good and fast at that, the entire healthcare system is geared towards that. But now we see a second problem, partly thanks to the MRR measurement: the small blood vessels and their condition”.
Source: Studio040
Translated by: Bob
