Saliva Test Capable of Determining Heart Attack

You are having pain in your chest; is it something as trivial as heartburn, or could you be having a heart attack? Scientists say that one day you will be able to find out with a simple saliva test that could be used in ambulances, drug stores, restaurants and other places in the community. Dr. John T. McDevitt, a biochemist at the University of Texas at Austin, told Reuters Health, “Proteins found in the saliva have the ability to rapidly classify potential heart attacks.”

Dr. McDevitt and colleagues have developed a nano-biochip sensor which is programmed to detect those proteins. A person simply spits into a tube and the saliva is transferred to a lab card, approximately the size of a credit card, which holds the nano-biochip. The card is then inserted into an analyzer and within 15 minutes can determine whether the person is currently having a heart attack or if they are at high risk of having one in the near future. This could prove to be a potentially life-saving alternative to blood testing, which Dr. McDevitt pointed out, “could take an hour to an hour and a half.”

In a study which involved 115 people, 56 who had a heart attack and 59 “controls” who did not, the researchers found the saliva test to have “about the same diagnostic accuracy” as a standard blood test in distinguishing between heart attack patients and controls, according to Dr. McDevitt's interview with Reuters Health. Dr. McDevitt also explained that many heart attack patients, especially women, experience nonspecific symptoms, or have normal readings on an EKG, making diagnosis difficult. Therefore, using the saliva test in conjunction with the EKG could “aid in rapidly diagnosing heart attacks that are silent on EKG.” Based on these initial findings, larger and more refined studies are planned.

In 2004, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved saliva testing for HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. Currently, saliva tests are available to screen for drugs, alcohol, nicotine, Candida, hormones, ovulation, and cortisol. New tests are being developed to detect measles, mumps, rubella, hepatitis (A, B, and C), breast cancer, cystic fibrosis, and Alzheimer’s disease. Scientists say that saliva-based screening could be available as a standard of care as early as 2011 for a variety of major diseases.

Saliva-based tests are very donor friendly, non-invasive, and easy to collect the specimen. It may also be the only practical way to screen large numbers of patients, especially in developing countries.