A chip will detect early signs of heart attack and stroke, says report

The heart pumps blood and distributes oxygen and nutrients across the body - one of the most important organs. In recent days, heart diseases are becoming a common phenomenon. Cases of heart attacks and strokes happen quite often. A report by World Health Organisation (WHO), published last year, noted that cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) are the leading cause of death globally. Hence, taking care of your heart's health is extremely important.

Technological advancements in medical science help doctors and other experts to diagnose the disease at an early stage and minimise the risks. An Australia-based reportsuggests that a pin-prick test could pick early signs of a heart attack.

A report by Australia-based hospitalhealth.com noted that scientists have developed a chip, thatwill apparently warn heart and stroke patients of high attack risk. The chip is wearable or can be kept in a bag. It can help people who are at risk of a heart attack.

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In Australia, approximately 55,000 people suffer a heart attack each year. The report mentioned that a similar number suffer from stroke.

Many heart attacks and strokes are caused by blood clots. In the situation of blood clots, the flow of blood to the heart is blocked. It often happens in at-risk individuals without any physical warning.

Experts have explained that a heart attack results when a blood clot completely obstructs a coronary artery supplying blood to the heart muscle and the heart muscle dies.

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The blood clot that causes the heart attack usually forms at the site of rupture of an atherosclerotic, cholesterol plaque on the inner wall of a coronary artery.

Meanwhile, University of Sydney biomedical engineer Dr Arnold Lining Ju is developing a biomedical micro-device which is meant to detect these subtle platelet changes before a heart attack or stroke takes place.

According to the Australian scientists who developed it, this small device could transform the lives of people at risk of heart attacks and strokes in Australia and around the world.

How is it supposed to work?

The micro-device would take a blood sample from a person's finger using a pin-prick test. The sample would then be analysed for platelet clotting and white cell inflammation responses. The report mentioned that the information would be immediately processed by an external operating system.

As quoted by the report, Ju said, "How this device would work is that an at-risk person, for example, someone with heart disease, would use it daily." Ju isfrom the Sydney Nanoscience Hub and Faculty of Engineering.

"Using a finger prick test, the device would monitor their blood and alert them to any potentially dangerous changes. If a change was detected, they would need to present for more monitoring at a hospital,"Ju further said.

Ju is also a group affiliate of the Heart Research Institute's Thrombosis Group.

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