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Know Your Risk for Heart Attacks

PULS (Protein Unstable Lesion Signature Test)

The second leading cause of death among Canadians, heart attacks are often a silent killer with no signs or symptoms before they strike. Often resulting from coronary heart disease, heart attacks can be predicted and even prevented if you know and manage your risk.

How is the test performed?

Blood sample
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What are protein unstable lesions and how are they linked to heart attacks?

Heart disease is a broad term for group of conditions that can affect the heart and prevent it from properly functioning. This includes coronary heart disease which is the build up of fatty plaque within your blood vessels. Over time as plaque hardens, it begins to narrow your arteries and reduce the flow of oxygen rich blood to your heart and other parts of your body. Plaque can also weaken or injure the walls of your arteries causing unstable lesions which could lead to a rupture. When these lesions are present, they leak unique proteins that can be detected in your blood stream.

Seventy-five percent of heart attacks are caused by unstable cardiac lesion ruptures. Detecting the presence of these lesions can be an indicator of your overall heart health and predict your risk for having a heart attack.

What is a PULS Test?

A Protein Unstable Lesion Signature Test, also known as PULS test, measures the traces of proteins that leak from cardiac lesions in the blood vessel walls. By identifying the presence and levels of these proteins, along with HDL and HbA1c, it provides your physician with valuable information to help determine your risk for a heart attack and what steps you need to take to improve your cardiac health.

Who should get tested?

If you are over the age of 40 and have no previous history of heart attacks, you should speak to your healthcare provider to determine if the PULS test is right for you.

A PULS test may also be recommended if you have one or more of the following risks factors:

  • Poor diet
  • Lack of exercise
  • Diabetes
  • Smoking
  • Alcohol abuse
  • Substance abuse
  • Stress
  • High cholesterol

Up to 80% of all heart attacks are preventable. The early detection of unstable cardiac lesions, combine with the management of risk factors, can help reduce your risk of heart disease and heart attacks.

When is the test ordered?

Your healthcare provider will order a PULS test if you are over 40 and wish to create a baseline for your heart health, or if they are concerned about your heart health because you:

  • have the risk factors for heart disease
  • have the risk factors for a heart attack

A PULS test may also be used in conjunction with a cholesterol test if your physician wants a more accurate picture of your heart health. However, upwards of fifty percent of heart attack victims have normal cholesterol levels and thus cholesterol testing alone doesn’t provide a complete picture of cardiac health.

How can I get tested?

Testing is completed by LifeLabs at a Patient Service Centre or via our mobile lab service (available in select cities) through a simple blood sample. You will require a completed test requisition from your healthcare provider.

Understanding your results

Test results will be provided directly to your healthcare provider for discussion with you. Your PULS test results will include:

  • Your personalized cardiac profile with individual test measurements for unstable cardiac lesions and the likelihood of rupture (heart attack).
  • Your “Heart Age” which shows your cardiac score relative to your age and gender group.
  • Recommended lifestyle modifications that may help maintain or reduce your chances of a heart attack.

Your medical history, age, gender and other factors will influence the outcome of the tests. Your physician will help explain the results and make recommendations for changes in lifestyles, additional treatments or if further testing is required.

Further information about the PULS test is available at: info@pulstest.com

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Overview

The PULS test (Protein Unstable Lesion Signature Test) measures the most clinically-significant protein biomarkers that measure the body’s immune system response to arterial injury. These injuries lead to the formation and progression of cardiac lesions which may become unstable and rupture, leading to a cardiac event. A PULS test may also be used in conjunction with a cholesterol test for a more accurate picture of your heart health.

PULS is just one of the many tests we offer to assist healthcare providers in risk characterization and ongoing therapeutic monitoring of patients with cardiovascular disease.

To learn more about cardiovascular diagnostic services we provide, please download the brochure below.

Further information about the PULS test is available at info@pulstest.com

How to order

Samples for PULS testing may be taken at any of our Patient Service Centres. Patients must present with the specific PULS requisition found below. This form must be completed by a physician or healthcare provider.

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Cost

The PULS test is currently an uninsured test. The cost of the PULS test is: $350

Payment may be made by the patient when the blood sample is taken at one of our Patient Service Centres. For convenience, Visa, Mastercard and Debit Cards are excepted.

Patient are encouraged to check with their private health care provider to see if coverage is provided.

Urgent requests

Urgent or “stat” PULS testing is not available. Patients clinically suspected of a serious cardiac event should be directed to a facility equipped to undertake intervention when this is required, not to a LifeLabs Patient Service Centre. For the same reason, biochemical markers of myocardial injury are not available on an urgent basis.

Receiving results

Results will be available to you within four weeks.

Request more information

We have a wealth of medical experts available to support you in interpreting test results.
Consults with our experts are available upon request.  Request medical consultation.

Request more information

Schedule a test

A PULS test may be scheduled directly by the patient at any of our Patient Service Centres offering this service. They must have a requisition form completed by a physician or healthcare provider.

Find a Location   Schedule an Appointment

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