We learned to calculate the risk of myocardial infarction online

The tool was developed by scientists at a Swedish university

An online tool with which anyone can calculate their risk of a heart attack over the next six months was developed by scientists from Uppsala University (Sweden). Nature reports this.

Myocardial infarction (MI) and cardiovascular diseases in general are the leading cause of death worldwide.

Scientists, according to professor from Uppsala University Johan Sundström, know what the main triggers of a heart attack are. For example, the risk of myocardial infarction is known to double within a month of divorce and become five times higher within one week of informing the patient of a confirmed cancer diagnosis.

Now cardiologists identified markers of an imminent heart attack, which people from the above risk groups should especially pay attention to.

The study included 2,018 people without previous cardiovascular disease. In 420 of them, myocardial infarction developed for the first time within six months after blood sampling.

Scientists analyzed 829 proteins in the subjects, including: cardiometabolic markers, cardiovascular markers, markers of development, immune response, inflammation, proteins associated with oncology. It was found that 48 proteins (in particular, a high level of brain natriuretic peptide), age, gender, and blood pressure are associated with the threat of myocardial infarction.

Based on the research, experts developed online tool, thanks to which anyone can assess their risk of a heart attack. In the test you need to answer the following questions: gender, age, height, waist circumference, presence or absence of diabetes, whether you smoke, quit or have never smoked. It is also necessary to enter the serum cholesterol level in a separate line, as well as indicate the basic lipid profile – to screen for lipid metabolism disorders.

Meanwhile, Russian researchers from the Institute of Biochemical Physics named after N.M. Emanuel RAS, Institute of Biochemistry A.N. Bach RAS and Moscow State University. M.V. Lomonosov developed a rapid analysis of four cardiac biomarkers in blood plasma. These are C-reactive protein, cystatin C, myoglobin and D-dimer. When measured simultaneously, these cardiac markers reflect the patient’s inflammatory or thromboembolic status. The method proposed by scientists allows them to be quantified in less than 15 minutes.