Health Center cardiologists have identified a protein fragment that when detected in the blood can be a predictor of heart attack.

Their research, led by Dr. Bruce Liang, director of the Pat and Jim Calhoun Cardiology Center, is published in the Jan. 11 issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology. The study found that heart attack patients had elevated levels of the protein fragment known as Caspase-3 p17 in their blood.

“We’ve discovered a new biomarker for heart attack, and showed that apoptosis, or a particular kind of cell death, is a cause of heart muscle damage,” Liang says. “The ability to see a heart attack coming with a simple blood test and to develop new therapies to block apoptosis would enable us to get a head start on treatment and preserve crucial heart muscle and cardiac function.”

“This test can work in patients but has not met regulatory requirements for clinical application in patients suspected of having a heart attack,” Liang says. “If it is successfully applied one day, it would mean another way to diagnose heart attack, and the possible development of new treatments.”

Co-investigators include Drs. Mariela Agosto, Michael Azrin, and Kanwar Singh from the UConn Health Center, and Dr. Allan Jaffe from the Mayo Clinic and Mayo Medical School, Rochester, Minn.