Israeli technology revolutionizes heart attack detection with one drop of blood

Israeli technology has changed the face of heart attack detection with a kit so small it fits in the palm of your hand. The results are available within minutes.

Just one drop of blood can tell within minutes if a patient has had a heart attack thanks to a revolutionary kit developed in Israel that is already saving hospitals time and money. More important, it can save lives.

A health professional needs only one drop of blood to let a patient know if a heart attack has occurred. If two stripes appear on the kit, the result is positive and the patient must immediately receive additional care.

The test is easy, noninvasive and takes less than 15 minutes to perform.

One in three Israelis appears in emergency rooms across the country convinced that he or she has had a heart attack. Many people believe they can identify classic heart attack symptoms, which include chest pain, dizziness, nausea, pain traveling particularly to the left arm, wheezing and extreme anxiety similar to a panic attack. In reality, these can be symptoms of heartburn, but until now, in order to find out, a patient would have to wait in an emergency room and undergo at least six hours of testing, including blood tests and an EKG.

On the other hand, less than 50 percent of heart attack victims experience classic symptoms. Many people have atypical symptoms such as shoulder or stomach pain or exhaustion. By the time they  have finished with the classic tests, precious hours will have passed, which can lead to unnecessary heart damage and even heart failure.

Even better news for heart attack victims is that this kit is more sensitive than traditional tests. There have already been numerous heart attacks picked up by this new miniature kit that went undetected by traditional testing.

The kit is already in use in Israeli hospitals and will be in Israeli emergency rooms this week. The next step will be making it available to consumers, who will be able to do the simple test on their own.

By: Gila Green, World Israel News
Courtesy Channel Ten News