New York, Aug 31 (IANS) Scientists said on Saturday that they have developed a simple blood test that can predict women’s risk of heart disease over the course of 30 years.
Research from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in the US found that measuring two types of fats in the blood as well as C-reactive protein (CRP), a marker of inflammation, could predict a woman’s risk of heart disease decades later.
“We can’t treat what we can’t measure,” said Paul M. Ridker, MD, director of the Center for Cardiovascular Disease Prevention at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston. “We hope these findings move us closer to identifying earlier ways to detect and prevent heart disease.”
According to the study published in the New England Journal of Medicine, the team collected blood samples and medical information from 27,939 healthcare providers living in the US who participated in the Women’s Health Study.
The study monitored the health of women with an average age of 55 for 30 years between 1992-1995.
During this time, 3,662 participants had a heart attack, stroke, surgery to restore blood circulation, or cardiovascular death.
The researchers examined how high-sensitivity CRP, low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol and lipoprotein(a) — a lipid made from LDL — alone and collectively predicted these events.
When all three measurements were assessed together, participants with the highest levels had a more than 1.5-fold increased risk of stroke and a more than 3-fold increased risk of coronary heart disease, while women with the lowest levels did not.
Although this study only evaluated women, similar results were expected in men as well.
“In recent years, we have learned more about how elevated levels of inflammation may interact with lipids to increase the risk of heart disease. This helps explain why lower levels are always better,” said Ahmed A.K. Hasan, MD, program director at the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI).
Researchers recommend regular physical activity, eating heart-healthy foods, managing stress, avoiding tobacco, and quitting smoking to reduce the risk of heart disease.
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