Quintet of proteins forms new, early-warning blood test before heart attack strikes

"A team of Johns Hopkins biochemists has identified a mixed bag of five key proteins out of thousands secreted into blood draining from the heart's blood vessels that may together or in certain quantities form the basis of a far more accurate early warning test than currently in use of impending heart attack in people with severely reduced blood flow, or ischemia. The work, involving more than a dozen scientists and taking more than a year to perform, is believed to be the largest protein analysis ever done at Hopkins. It was based on 76 arterial blood samples from 19 men and women taken immediately before and after a period of medically induced ischemia lasting as long as 45 minutes. All had ischemia induced through accelerated pacing of the heart's main chambers. Blood samples were provided by cardiologists at the University of Texas Southwestern" - EurekAlert