The Detection of the Severity of Acute Myocardial Infarction (AMI) Using Magnetic Microspheres

摘要

Coronary artery disease (CAD) is the leading cause of morbidity and mortality in the world. The emergency department evaluation of patients with potential acute coronary syndromes has traditionally included initial cardiac marker testing for suspected Acute Myocardial Infarction (AMI) [1]. Because of lack of sensitivity in current measuring methods for AMI half million people in America are mistakenly discharged from ER to have AMI later at home [2]. Currently electrocardiographs (ECG) are used in concert with blood serum protein elevations to diagnose the infarction. It has been shown that the diagnostic sensitivity of an ECG is approximately 50% in determining myocardial damage [3]. The number of individuals who have been discharged from emergency departments provides further evidence of the need for a more efficient method of AMI detection. It has been indicated that approximately 25% of the patients sent home with an acute myocardial infarction had ST elevations that were misjudged or overlooked by the physician [4]. Also, an estimated 80% of the patients admitted to the coronary care unit for suspected acute myocardial infarction are discharged without having this diagnosis confirmed [5, 6]. More importantly, 2-8% of the 2 million individuals that were not admitted developed AMIs resulting in added injury to the individual and malpractice actions taken against the institution [7].