Anchorage Daily News

Anchorage residents who suffer heart attacks this fall could receive a life-saving boost on their trip to the hospital.

Paramedics with the Anchorage Fire Department and doctors with two local hospitals will ask heart attack victims if they want to participate in a nationwide study to determine whether a newly developed intravenous solution administered at the onset of a heart attack can save lives.

Those who say yes will receive an injection. Some will only get sugar water -- a placebo -- that's routinely administered to heart attack victims. Others will receive a solution called GIK, a mixture of high concentration glucose, insulin and potassium.

Glucose, or sugar water, provides fuel to the heart when the blood supply is low. Insulin is a natural hormone that helps move sugar to heart cells. Potassium is a salt that needs to be replenished in the blood supply when glucose and insulin are administered.

Known as the IMMEDIATE Trial -- for Immediate Metabolic Myocardial Enhancement During Initial Assessment and Treatment in Emergency Care -- the study marks the first time that GIK will be administered by paramedics prior to a patient's arrival at a hospital, Levy said.

Anchorage is one of six cities in the country participating in the study, which is sponsored by the Heart, Lung, Blood Institute at the National Institutes of Health. Local participants include the Anchorage Fire Department, Alaska Regional Hospital and Providence Alaska Medical Center.

Researchers have found that GIK can prevent the heart from suffering damage if it's injected soon after a person experiences the initial symptoms of a heart attack, according to Dr. Michael Levy, an emergency room physician at Alaska Regional and leader of the local research effort.

"The thought is, if this stuff works -- and it may well work -- it works best the sooner you get it on board," Levy said.

When GIK is introduced late in a treatment, however, its benefits have been found to be negligible.

Prior to opting in, the local agencies conducted a public opinion survey to determine whether Anchorage residents would be willing participants. The survey found that 85 percent of those polled said yes, Levy said.

Several safeguards will be in place to ensure the study doesn't interfere with normal rescue procedures or hospital treatments, he said. Persons not eligible to participate will include patients who are pregnant, or under 30 years of age, or suffering lung congestion, cardiac arrest, a language barrier or impaired reasoning.

Persons who are eligible and exhibit appropriate symptoms will be informed of the study by paramedics, who'll read a brief statement from an index card, Levy said. Patients will also have a chance to enroll at the hospital.

The ultimate goal of the treatment is to reduce the death rate due to heart attacks by reducing early-onset damage to the heart, Levy said.

"The idea here is if the heart is provided with key nutrients, then a number of complications that we know occur later might be forestalled."

Find George Bryson online at adn.com/contact/gbryson or call 257-4318.

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