Kardiol Pol
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Myocardial infarction (MI) is one of the most serious challenges of contemporary cardiology. Among biochemical markers, heart-type specific fatty acid binding protein (h-FABP) has a high potential as a marker for the early diagnosis of acute MI. The h-FABP is released early to the bloodstream and may be useful for both rapid confirmation and exclusion of infarction. As opposed to patients with ST segment elevation MI (STEMI), patients with unstable angina (UA)/non-ST segment elevation MI (NSTEMI) present a heterogeneous group in which the confirmation of MI often meets diagnostic difficulties. A rapid, qualitative immunoenzymatic 'point of care' type test, revealing h-FABP in blood, has recently been made available (CardioDetect med). ⋯ Qualitative h-FABP test (CardioDetect med) showed excellent sensitivity, higher than measurements of CK-MB mass, CK-MB, and cTnT on hospital admission, and high specificity in the patient group with NSTE ACS. The h-FABP seems to be an excellent biochemical cardiac marker for diagnosing NSTEMI, especially in its early phase, allowing exclusion of myocardial necrosis.
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We present a case of a 35-year old patient with a patent foramen ovale and acute ischaemic stroke. The patient underwent successful percutaneous closure of foramen ovale with an Amplatzer device. Epidemiology, diagnosis and treatment of this condition are discussed.