A new innovation developed in the region makes it easier to detect or rule out a heart attack more quickly. Every ambulance in the region is now equipped with the rapid test for heart attacks.
It’s a small device that can detect the presence of a specific chemical, which is released during heart damage, in a patient’s blood. All it takes is a finger prick. Within eight minutes, it determines whether there is a risk of a heart attack. It’s a kind of rapid test, in other words.
According to cardiologist Pieter-Jan Vlaar of the Catharina Hospital in Eindhoven, it’s an additional way to diagnose people and can prevent them from having to go to the hospital.
“The major advantage is that we can reassure them at home that a heart attack is unlikely. Moreover, we can immediately determine what further care is needed. This means we no longer always have to rush to the hospital, which can be very stressful.”
Collaboration
The deployment of this device requires close collaboration between various organisations. The hospitals in the region, the GGD Brabant-Zuidoost Ambulance Service, and general practitioner organizations are all involved in the development.
“If the ambulance leaves the patient at home, I get a call,” says general practitioner Eleana Zhang. “They then let me know that it’s my patient and that someone will be coming to check on the woman at home to find out what’s causing the symptoms. What can be done for that patient, instead of having to take her to the hospital?”
Stress
“When a patient has to go in the ambulance, you can just see the tension rise,” Zhang observes. “They start shaking and their blood pressure rises, so that really creates a lot of stress. About what’s going to happen. It creates a lot of uncertainty.”
There is interest in the device outside the region and even abroad. But according to Van Vlaar, it can’t work everywhere. The aforementioned collaboration between the various organizations is essential.
“This collaboration is necessary because we apply it to a large group of people who are in the transition between general practitioner care and hospital care. This requires careful coordination,” says Vlaar.
Peace of Mind
In the region, ambulances are called approximately 4,400 times a year for chest pain. An ECG is routinely performed. Vlaar: “But an ECG is sometimes unclear, and the risk score and blood test can provide further clarification about whether something is wrong and what it is.”
This provides peace of mind not only for patients but also for ambulance staff. “It’s much more reassuring to be able to reassure people more honestly,” says Arjan Koks, ambulance worker at the Municipal Health Service (GGD).
According to him, there are three pillars for diagnosing a heart attack: an ECG, the patient’s history, and blood tests. “We didn’t have the latter before. In the new situation, we’re also identifying people who we might otherwise have left at home.”
Source: Studio040
Translate: Ayşenur Kuran
