Heart disease is a leading cause of death globally, with heart attacks being among the most common cardiovascular diseases affecting both men and women.

However, diagnosing heart attacks in female patients can be more challenging as symptoms vary and may mimic other conditions, leading to misdiagnoses and delayed treatments. In recent years, researchers have been working on a new test to improve accuracy in detecting heart attacks in women.

What is a Heart Attack?

A heart attack typically occurs when blood flow to a part of the heart is blocked.

The heart muscle begins to die due to the lack of oxygen-rich blood, causing chest pain and other symptoms such as shortness of breath, nausea, vomiting, and indigestion or heartburn. Men and women experience these symptoms differently, and women may also experience back or jaw pain or feel fatigued rather than having chest pain.

Challenges in Diagnosing Heart Attacks in Women

The challenge with diagnosing heart attacks in women is that their symptoms often differ from the classic “Hollywood heart attack” stereotype that is typically depicted in movies and TV shows.

The symptoms can be more subtle and easily attributed to other conditions, such as anxiety, menopause, or acid reflux. These differences in symptoms can lead to misdiagnoses or delayed treatments.

Moreover, standardized diagnostic tests for heart attacks such as electrocardiogram (ECG) and cardiac enzymes may not be as reliable in women as they are in men.

Women can have “normal” ECG results despite experiencing a heart attack, and their cardiac enzymes may not peak until hours later or even after several days. These challenges make it crucial to develop more sensitive and accurate tests for diagnosing heart attacks in women.

The IMPRESS Test

An improved test called IMPRESS (Ischemia modified albumin in the Rapid evaluation of Chest pain to exclude acute myocardial infarction in women) has been developed to detect heart attacks in female patients more accurately.

The test measures ischemia-modified albumin (IMA) levels in the blood, which is a marker of myocardial ischemia.

When the heart muscle is starved of oxygen, albumin in the blood is modified by the reactive oxygen species produced during ischemia.

This reaction is measured by the IMPRESS test, which can detect IMA levels in the blood within 10 minutes, making it a faster and more sensitive test than standard ECG and cardiac enzyme tests.

The IMPRESS Test’s Accuracy

A study conducted by researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center found that the IMPRESS test is highly accurate in detecting heart attacks in female patients compared to standard diagnostic tests.

The study included 354 women who visited the emergency department with symptoms of a heart attack. Of these, 54 women had confirmed myocardial infarction (heart attack), while the remaining had other conditions or no heart disease.

Results showed that the IMPRESS test accurately detected 89% of the heart attacks in the women, compared to 77% for the ECG and 80% for the cardiac enzyme tests.

The IMPRESS test also had a lower rate of false positives, which can help prevent unnecessary invasive procedures and reduce healthcare costs.

Benefits of the IMPRESS Test

The IMPRESS test’s accuracy in detecting heart attacks in women can have significant benefits in terms of improving patient outcomes and reducing healthcare costs.

Since women are often misdiagnosed or have delayed treatments due to the challenges in diagnosing heart attacks, a more accurate and faster test such as IMPRESS can significantly improve their chances of recovery and reduce the risk of long-term complications or death.

In addition, the IMPRESS test can help reduce healthcare costs by preventing unnecessary invasive procedures or hospital admissions for women with false positive results.

This can also help reduce the burden on emergency departments and expedite treatments for patients who truly need urgent care.

Conclusion

The IMPRESS test represents a significant advancement in diagnosing heart attacks in female patients. Its high accuracy and sensitivity can help identify heart attacks faster, reducing the risk of complications and improving patient outcomes.

The test can also have substantial cost-saving benefits by preventing unnecessary procedures and admissions for women with false positive results. If widely adopted, the IMPRESS test can help improve the standard of care for women with heart disease and reduce the global burden of heart attacks.