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Photo: Getty Image Bank Israel
Israeli development predicts heart disease
Itamar Medical's FDA approved EndoPAT device provides a simple, noninvasive test using a finger probe to diagnose future heart problems
What are your chances of suffering from a stroke or heart attack in the future? A simple finger sensor test could put your mind at ease.
The EndoPAT test, that was developed by Israeli company Itamar Medical, and approved by the US Food and Drug Administration, has recently proved to be highly effective in research conducted by two of the US's leading medical centers, Mayo Clinic and Tufts-New England Medical Center in Boston.
The study followed 270 patients between the ages of 42 and 66 for seven years using the EndoPAT test.
The device measures the health of endothelial cells – the inner lining of blood vessels - by measuring blood flow, and consists of digital recording equipment and two finger probes that look like large thimbles.
The probes are placed on each index finger and hooked up to a small machine to measure blood flow.
Research has shown that endothelial cell dysfunction could be one of the factors leading to the development atherosclerosis, which is the leading cause of heart attacks and strokes.
Forty-nine percent of patients whose EndoPAT test indicated poor endothelial function had a cardiac event during the seven-year study.
The study's results were recently presented at the annual American Cardiology Convention in Orlando, Florida.
Dr. Amir Lerman, a cardiologist at Mayo Clinic and the senior author of the study, said, "The EndoPAT is a breakthrough, since in the past, there was no simple test to test endothelial functioning.
"The use of it may influence the medication treatment given to patients in order to prevent a future heart attack or stroke."
