Biomarkers aim to help predict heart disease risk

 Wouldn't it be wonderful if a single blood test could gauge the heart's health? Medicine isn't quite yet at that point. But there are a few indicators that can signal where your cardiovascular health is headed and let you know whether you need to take action now to prevent a heart attack or stroke, according to the August 2014 Harvard Women's Health Watch. Substances called biomarkers they reflect processes that are going on inside the body. "Biomarkers could be used both for predicting disease risk and for selecting those who would potentially benefit most from therapy," says Dr. Samia Mora, a cardiologist at Brigham and Women's Hospital and assistant professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School. A good biomarker must be accurate, easy to measure, and safe. Think cholesterol. A useful biomarker also needs to provide new information beyond what other tests already offer. Over the last decade or so, researchers have been testing several other biomarkers to help fine-tune heart disease prediction. They include: C-reactive protein, a marker of inflammation in the body. Apolipoproteins, types of protein that travel in the blood with cholesterol. Lipoprotein-associated phospholipase A2, an enzyme released by immune system cells. B-type natriuretic peptide, a hormone produced in response to excess stress on the heart. Many of the processes and risks these biomarkers identify are the same in men and women. But because women naturally have different levels of certain biom...
Source: New Harvard Health Information - Category: Consumer Health News Source Type: news