Randox H-FABP, the Biomarker of Myocardial Ischemia that’s Detectable as early as 30 Minutes from Chest Pain Onset

The automated test for Heart-type fatty acid-binding protein (H-FABP) by Randox, is a highly sensitive biomarker for the earlier diagnosis of patients with suspected AMI, enabling faster “rule-out”. H-FABP is detectable as early as 30 minutes after chest pain onset, significantly earlier than traditional biomarkers.

Recent clinical trials have demonstrated that by combining H-FABP with Troponin I or T, the sensitivity and negative predictive value for ruling out AMI’s is significantly improved; and even when a high sensitivity Troponin assay is used, the combination of Troponin and H-FABP is superior to Troponin alone.

Prognostic value

Research has shown that the higher the concentration of H-FABP in a patient’s blood; the more likely it is that the patient will suffer another heart attack and/or die, within the year.

An independent study published in JACC tested 1500 patients who were admitted to Leeds General Infirmary, suffering with ACS. Researchers examined H-FABP and troponin levels in the blood, tracked the patients for a year and found that:

Patients who tested positive for troponin but negative for H-FABP had a 4% chance of dying within the year; for patients who tested negative for troponin but positive for H-FABP, the likelihood of death within 12 months had risen to >20%.

Risk of mortality in the next 6 yrs

Further research into these patients determined that 60% of those with high H-FABP levels had died within 6 years of their initial arrival to hospital with chest pain; these same patients tested negative for troponin. They concluded that “Mortality rate was independent of troponin status but strongly related to H-FABP status”.