Roche Diagnostics’ announced today the launch of a new Cardiac NT-proBNP test for fast, accurate, on-the-spot diagnosis of heart failure. Roche Diagnostics’ Cardiac Reader System utilises the NT-proBNP marker to detect heart failure earlier and to increase sensitivity for the detection of mild heart failure. The test provides physicians with quick results, allowing them to make vital treatment decisions, when every second counts.

The Cardiac NT-proBNP test gives quantitative results from serum, plasma or whole blood, in a faster time than has previously been possible with tests of this type on the market. The test shows a high correlation to Roche Diagnostics’ central laboratory solution, the Elecsys proBNP assay. At the forefront of technological advances in the field, Roche Diagnostics is currently the only company to offer both high-throughput NT-proBNP centralised laboratory tests and point of care solutions.

Dr Paul Collinson, Director of Pathology and NSF Lead for Coronary Prevention, St George’s Hospital, said: “Roche Diagnostics’ NT-proBNP is an excellent marker in terms of sample stability and clinical reliability. We have found it is more accurate than clinical assessment and may, as suggested recently in the British Medical Journal, be the defining test for cardiac dysfunction. When used in conjunction with other clinical information, it can be used to detect mild heart failure, which is critical in allowing effective treatment at an earlier stage.

“It is great news that there is now a point of care test that gives the same results as laboratory testing. The Cardiac Reader System is simple to use and requires no pre-treatment of samples, which means that heart failure patients can be diagnosed, monitored and managed rapidly in a range of locations such as a one-stop outpatients clinic.”

Congestive heart failure is a major public health problem, associated with significant morbidity and mortality, accounting for over 5% of all deaths in the UK . In England, the condition is responsible for a total of one million inpatient bed days (2% of all inpatient bed days)1. It is estimated that there are 878,000 people in the UK with definite or probable heart failure1, costing the NHS over £625 million a year1. Hospital admissions for heart failure are projected to increase by 50% over the next 25 years1, largely due to the aging population and the increased survival rates following myocardial infarction.

Andy Hartell, Senior Market Manager for Centralised Diagnostics at Roche Diagnostics, said: “We are very proud of our strong company heritage in cardiovascular diagnostics and we see huge patient and healthcare service benefits in continuing to invest heavily in the area, to produce rapid, accurate and reliable tests. We are delighted to be able to broaden the previous cardiovascular parameter menu of the Cardiac Reader System, to offer the choice of troponin T, myoglobin, D-Dimer and the new NT-proBNP.

“Roche Diagnostics’ is committed to providing a comprehensive package of training, quality assurance and IT solutions and feels confident that the new Cardiac Reader NT-proBNP test will extend the success of our centralised laboratory solution to hospital and primary care settings.”