Blood tests are widely used to help doctors diagnose heart attacks after a patient experiences symptoms.Now researchers recently found a more sensitive version of one test that may predict the chances for heart attack or stroke years in advance of any signs of cardiovascular disease
ISLAMABAD (Pakistan Point News / Online - 13th May, 2019) Blood tests are widely used to help doctors diagnose heart attacks after a patient experiences symptoms.Now researchers recently found a more sensitive version of one test that may predict the chances for heart attack or stroke years in advance of any signs of cardiovascular disease.It's called the high-sensitivity troponin I test.The blood test was examined as part of an Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) study designed to investigate the causes and clinical outcomes of atherosclerosis, or clogged arteries.
More than 15,000 middle-aged men and women were enrolled from four communities in the United States.The research team, using data from this study, concluded that the troponin I test could help predict the onset of cardiovascular issues in healthy middle-aged or older adults.The researchers examined a group of 8,121 people between 54 and 74 years old from the ARIC study who had no history of cardiovascular disease. Troponin levels were detected in almost 90 percent of them.
According to researchers, people showing no signs of heart disease with elevated troponin I levels were more likely to experience cardiac episodes such as heart attacks coronary heart disease stroke heart failure.The increased risk was independent of other known risk factors, such as high cholesterol levels, blood pressure, smoking, and diabetes."We were interested in identifying biomarkers that may help individuals at risk of heart disease but who aren't typically treated," Dr.
Christie Ballantyne, a study author and a professor of medicine and chief of the section of cardiology at Baylor College of Medicine in Texas, told Healthline."As you get middle-aged or older, what we're seeing is biomarkers of cardiac injury, like troponin, are much better predictors than going by risk factors like cholesterol levels or blood pressure, which are much less informative past someone's 60s and 70s," he added.
