Acute Myocardial Infarction (AMI) Diagnosis; Impact of Technology in Developing Highly Sensitive Biomarkers and Assays

Acute myocardial infarction (AMI), a cardiovascular disease have been known to cause high morbidity and mortality rate in several countries. Hence, several serum biomarkers have evolved as a standard and bedrock for its diagnosis one of which is, cardiac troponin. This cardiac biomarker's accurate and rapid detection is critical in reducing the risk of heart attack-related complications. However, the delay experienced in the determination of a patient’s clinical state, coupled with the time of admitting them to the hospital depicts the need for improving diagnosing AMI by developing a highly sensitive biomarker. In this review we discuss, biomarkers and immunoassays employed in diagnosing acute myocardial infarction. Specifically, we reviewed and discussed cardiac troponin, a widely used biomarker. Subsequently, we discuss various methods used in assessing its performance and how technology has helped in developing more sensitive cardiac troponin to fast track its rate of diagnosis. At the end, we propose the integration of several disciplines from nanotechnology to biotechnology to develop a robust medical diagnostic system to facilitate disease diagnosis and help save lives.