Developed by David Schneider, MD, the new test may revolutionize our ability to identify who is at greater risk of recurrent heart attacks or bleeding caused by blood-thinning medications.
Led by David Schneider, MD, chief of cardiology at UVM Medical Center, the research focuses on a specific protein found on platelets — the tiny cells in blood that help form clots. By understanding the prevalence of a specific protein on a patient’s platelets, doctors can determine whether someone is more likely to have a second heart attack – also known as recurrent heart attacks.
Recurrent heart attacks account for about 25% of all heart attacks in the U.S. each year, according to the American Heart Association (AHA). About one in five people who have had a heart attack will be readmitted to the hospital for a second one within five years, according to the AHA.
As part of his research, Dr. Schneider developed a new biomarker test that provides insight into a person’s risk for recurrent heart attacks and whether they are at higher risk of dangerous bleeding from blood-thinning medications. The medications are central to the treatment of many cardiac patients.
Early success led to Prolocor®, a company formed with support from University of Vermont and UVM Health Network. The Prolocor pFCGTM diagnostic testing appears to be a major step forward in precision cardiac care – giving cardiologists insight that helps them deliver the right treatment to the right patient at the right time.
While clotting is vital to stop bleeding, excessive clotting inside arteries can cause heart attacks. Cardiologists using blood-thinning medications to treat patients with heart conditions or following a cardiac event must find the right balance between preventing future heart attacks and limiting patients’ risk of serious bleeding.
“This test gives clinicians critical information we’ve never had before,’ said Dr. Schneider. “We can now more accurately assess a patient’s risk of having another heart attack – and balance that risk with the risk of bleeding from medications. That balance is key to saving lives.”
Initial studies with the pFCG test conducted at UVM Medical Center showed striking results, identifying patients at both high and low risk for recurrent heart attacks. A larger, multi-center trial involving more than 800 patients at 25 hospitals across the country confirmed those findings late last year.
Prolocor intends to seek FDA approval and the Prolocor pFCG testing could become a vital part of routine care for heart patients.
Dr. Schneider’s research is the latest example of UVM Medical Center’s growing impact in cardiovascular science. Over the past decade, UVM Medical Center’s cardiology team has helped pioneer safer methods for pacemaker placement, advanced imaging techniques to study heart failure, and innovative approaches to treating valve disease.
“We’ve built a collaborative, patient-focused research environment here,” said Dr. Schneider. “And that’s a making real difference in how we care for people with heart disease – here and around the world.”
About the University of Vermont Medical Center
The University of Vermont Medical Center is a 499-bed tertiary care regional referral center providing advanced care to approximately 1 million residents in Vermont and northern New York. Together with our partners at the Larner College of Medicine at the University of Vermont and the College of Nursing and Health Sciences, we are Vermont’s academic medical center. The University of Vermont Medical Center also serves as a community hospital for approximately 150,000 residents in Chittenden and Grand Isle counties.
The University of Vermont Medical Center is a member of The University of Vermont Health Network, an integrated system established to deliver high-quality academic medicine to every community we serve.
For more information visit www.UVMHealth.org/MedCenter or visit our Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and blog sites at www.UVMHealth.org/MedCenterSocialMedia.
About University of Vermont Health Network
University of Vermont Health Network is an integrated system serving the residents of Vermont and northern New York with a shared mission: working together, we improve people’s lives. The partners are:
- University of Vermont Medical Center
- University of Vermont Health Network Medical Group
- University of Vermont Health Network – Alice Hyde Medical Center
- University of Vermont Health Network – Central Vermont Medical Center
- University of Vermont Health Network – Champlain Valley Physicians Hospital
- University of Vermont Health Network – Elizabethtown Community Hospital
- University of Vermont Health Network – Porter Medical Center
- University of Vermont Health Network – Home Health & Hospice
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