{"id":513449,"date":"2026-07-06T19:15:30","date_gmt":"2026-07-06T23:15:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/deultimominuto.net\/en\/uncategorized\/a-blood-test-could-help-anticipate-the-risk-of-death-after-a-severe-heart-attack\/"},"modified":"2026-07-06T19:15:30","modified_gmt":"2026-07-06T23:15:30","slug":"a-blood-test-could-help-anticipate-the-risk-of-death-after-a-severe-heart-attack","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/deultimominuto.com\/en\/dominican-news\/health\/a-blood-test-could-help-anticipate-the-risk-of-death-after-a-severe-heart-attack\/","title":{"rendered":"A blood test could help anticipate the risk of death after a severe heart attack"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Cardiovascular diseases<\/strong> are the leading cause of death worldwide. According to the World Health Organization (WHO)<\/strong>, they caused 19.8 million deaths in 2022<\/strong>, and 85%<\/strong> of those deaths were due to heart attacks and strokes<\/strong>.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In that context, having a blood test<\/strong> from the moment of hospital admission that helps identify patients at higher risk of dying in the first few days after a severe heart attack<\/strong> is a clinical priority.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Research led by the University of M\u00fcnster<\/strong> and published in Nature Cardiovascular Research<\/em> points to a subtle signal: the presence of immature immune cells in the blood<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/a>During a severe heart attack, the body releases immature neutrophil precursors from the bone marrow into the bloodstream, a response that reflects the body’s stress level. According to the University of M\u00fcnster<\/strong>, this signal is associated with the severity of the condition and can predict the risk of death within the first 30 days<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Research from the University of M\u00fcnster linked the presence of immature immune cells in the blood to the severity of a heart attack.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We recommend reading:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a heart attack, it is not just the heart that is damaged. The immune system also reacts, and one of its most visible responses is the release of large amounts of neutrophils<\/strong> into the blood. These cells are a type of white blood cell that acts as the body’s first line of defense against infections, injuries, or intense inflammation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/a>Under normal conditions, mostly mature cells circulate. When the body faces an intense aggression, such as a heart attack, the bone marrow also releases immature precursors, a sign that it is resorting to its emergency reserves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Neutrophil mobilization during an acute myocardial infarction has been known for almost 100 years. What remained clearly unresolved was how to identify patients at higher risk upon hospital admission<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What blood reveals in the most severe heart attacks<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The team led by Professor Oliver Soehnlein<\/strong>, from the Institute of Experimental Pathology at the Center for Molecular Biology of Inflammation at the University of M\u00fcnster<\/strong>, compared patients with heart attack<\/strong>, heart failure<\/strong>, and stroke<\/strong>. Their goal was to measure the extent to which this emergency mobilization appears in different acute conditions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Researchers observed a close relationship between the severity of the condition and the degree of immaturity of the released cells. The worse the acute condition, the greater the presence of immature neutrophil precursors in the blood<\/strong>. ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction showed the greatest mobilization of immature neutrophils and pre-neutrophils in the blood (Illustrative Image Infobae)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The most marked release appeared in ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction<\/strong>, the most severe form of heart attack, in which a coronary artery is completely blocked. In those patients, the team even detected pre-neutrophils<\/strong>, which are among the most immature precursors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The immune signal associated with a higher risk of death<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

For the study, the authors analyzed blood samples from more than 200 patients<\/strong> with heart attack, heart failure, or stroke, in addition to healthy individuals. Using high-resolution spectral flow cytometry<\/strong>, they distinguished the different maturation stages of neutrophils.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That technique allowed for the precise characterization of individual blood cells based on numerous traits measured at the same time. The team also examined inflammatory mediators in plasma<\/strong> and identified a coordinated inflammatory pattern that accompanied the increase in cellular mobilization.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The study analyzed more than 200 patients with heart attack, heart failure, and stroke, as well as healthy individuals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The presence of the most immature precursors was associated with a significant increase in the risk of short-term death. Mathis Richter<\/strong>, first author and doctoral candidate, told the University of M\u00fcnster<\/strong> that they were surprised by the clarity with which the severity of the disease is reflected in the maturity of the released cells and that, in a severe heart attack, the bone marrow literally resorts to its last reserves<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why a simple analysis could help identify the highest-risk patients<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Richter explained to the University of M\u00fcnster that these cells can be detected with a differential blood count<\/strong>, a test available in almost all hospitals that determines the exact composition of white blood cells. He added that in that analysis they can be identified as immature granulocytes<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To check its predictive value, the team reviewed the results in two other independent groups of patients, one retrospective and one prospective, with several hundred people. In that validation, the IG value<\/strong> (immature granulocytes) predicted the risk of death in the first 30 days<\/strong> better than already established biomarkers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The authors pointed out that a differential blood count available in most hospitals could help identify patients at higher risk upon admission (Illustrative Image Infobae)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That value also retained its own predictive capacity even when considering other known risk factors. According to the study, this indicates that it provides additional information to that already offered by the markers and history used routinely.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The advantage of the method is that it does not require expensive or time-consuming specialized analysis. According to the University of M\u00fcnster<\/strong>, that could help detect higher-risk patients upon admission and allow for closer monitoring.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The research does not yet propose its immediate use in clinical practice<\/strong>. Before applying it routinely, the predictive value of immature granulocytes must be confirmed in new independent cohorts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The work also points to a broader line of research on communication between the injured heart and the bone marrow. For the University of M\u00fcnster<\/strong>, the next step is to identify which signals trigger that enhanced release of cells and whether that exchange can be used to seek new treatments.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Cardiovascular diseases are the leading cause of death worldwide. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), they caused 19.8 million deaths in 2022, and 85% of those deaths were due to heart attacks and strokes. In that context, having a blood test from the moment of hospital admission that helps identify patients at higher risk […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":133556,"featured_media":514133,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_members_access_role":[],"_members_access_error":""},"categories":[37165],"tags":[40983],"class_list":["post-513449","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-health","tag-who"],"acf":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/phj1q1-29zr","jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/deultimominuto.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/07\/K5JLELN54ZHZVBXZ2MDXFCBKC4-1.avif","dum_api":{"author_name":"Yerandi Santana","author_image":"https:\/\/deultimominuto.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/cropped-WhatsApp-Image-2026-02-13-at-5.35.07-PM-96x96.jpeg","categories_name":["Health"],"featured_media_url":"https:\/\/cdn.deultimominuto.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/07\/K5JLELN54ZHZVBXZ2MDXFCBKC4-1.avif"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/deultimominuto.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/513449","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/deultimominuto.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/deultimominuto.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/deultimominuto.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/133556"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/deultimominuto.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=513449"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/deultimominuto.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/513449\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/deultimominuto.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/514133"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/deultimominuto.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=513449"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/deultimominuto.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=513449"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/deultimominuto.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=513449"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}