Medical Update
Medical Update
Test may identify heart attack, stroke risk
An inexpensive blood test may identify which heart disease patients are at the highest risk of a stroke or heart attack, allowing doctors to move more aggressively to help them, a study said."We are very good in this country at diagnosing heart disease," said Kirsten Bibbins-Domingo, of the University of California-San Francisco, lead author of the study. "But we're not very good at distinguishing who's at high risk for future problems and starting them on preventive therapies. This test could make all the difference," she added. The study involved nearly 1,000 people who were followed for over three years. The blood test measured a combination of amino acids called NT-proBNP related to heart function. The researchers found that heart disease patients with the highest levels of the substance had nearly eight times the risk of stroke, heart attack or heart failure as did those with the lowest levels. The test would cost from $20 to $40, according to information provided by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation which sponsored the study along with the U.S. National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute. Source: Journal of the American Medical Association
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