Diagnosing Heart Attacks Before They Strike

Chemists and Bioengineers Detect Heart Attack on the Spot with Simple Saliva Test

January 1, 2010

Chemists and bioengineers devised a diagnostic test for heart attacks using nano-bio-chip sensor devices and a sample of patient saliva. The chip uses biochemically programmed microelectronics components to detect the 32 proteins in the saliva sample that are indicative of a heart attack. A lab card, which is about the same size as credit card, holds the chip and is coated with the patient's saliva. The card is then loaded into an analyzer, which evaluates the patient's cardiac status at that moment. The test can indicate if the person is having a heart attack at the time or at high risk for a future heart attack.

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WHAT CAUSES HEART ATTACKS: Heart attack is the leading cause of death in North and South America and in Europe. It is usually the result of prolonged hardening and narrowing of the arteries that direct blood into the heart. When blood vessels are healthy, oxygen-rich blood flows easily to all the muscles and organs of the body. But if they become clogged by the buildup of fatty deposits on vessel walls, blood can be cut off, killing heart muscle cells. This is called coronary heart disease, and it can lead to heart attacks or strokes.

SIGNS OF A HEART ATTACK:

  • Pressure, tightness, or burning chest pain. May extend into the jaw, shoulders, back, or arms
  • Nausea or vomiting
  • Sweating
  • Shortness of breath
  • Dizziness

ABOUT NANOTECHNOLOGY: Nanotechnology is science at the size of individual atoms and molecules: objects and devices measuring mere billionths of a meter, smaller than a red blood cell. At that size scale, materials have different chemical and physical properties than those of the same materials in bulk, because quantum mechanics is more important.

The Materials Research Society, AVS - Science and Technology of Materials, Interfaces, and Processing, and the American Association of Pharmaceutical Scientists contributed to the information contained in the TV portion of this report. This report has also been produced thanks to a generous grant from The Camille and Henry Dreyfus Foundation, Inc.

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John McDevitt, PhD
Rice University
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mcdevitt@rice.edu

American Association of Pharmaceutical Scientists
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AVS - Science and Technology of Materials, Interfaces, and Processing
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della@avs.org