Jonathan Wilhoite Blog: How Do You Track Hidden Heart Disease?

Wednesday, December 21, 2016

How Do You Track Hidden Heart Disease?

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WB News says that there’s an affordable way to check if you’re at risk of a heart attack. This is a blood test that can predict which healthy patients are prone to have an attack. Experts explain that it could be an even better assessment than checking blood pressure and cholesterol levels.

They have only conducted this on men but the British Heart Foundation-funded researchers say that it should work on women as well. The test is called troponin. It looks for a protein that’s released when the heart muscle is damaged.

Blood Test For Hidden Disease

Doctors already use the same blood test to help diagnose men and women who they suspect have just had a heart attack. But researchers from Edinburgh and Glasgow universities say it should be used to help patients avoid ever reaching this point. Read more…

BBC.com says that Prof Nicholas Mills and colleagues discovered that the men who had increased levels of troponin in their blood were more likely to have an attack or die of the disease 15 years later.

In order to circumvent this, patients should undergo preventive treatment. This means taking cholesterol-lowering drugs (statins) in order to decrease the risk as well as their troponin levels.

Trace the Hidden Disease

The 3,300 men in the study had high cholesterol but no history of heart disease.

The scientists now plan to do more research involving women too. Read more..

Huffington Post says that the protein presence in the bloodstream are excellent markers as this is highly linked to heart problems. The test is currently used to confirm heart attacks that were suspected to have happened.

Professor David Newby explains that troponin acts like a barometer of health. If it goes up, it means that it’s getting bad and your risk of heart conditions increases. If it goes down, it means that you’re all good.

A Cheap Blood Test Could Reveal If You Have A Hidden Disease

Professor David Newby, said: “Troponin is almost like a barometer of heart health. If it creeps up, that’s bad and your risk of problems increases. If it goes down, that’s good.” The study, which was funded by the British Heart Foundation, looked at 3300 participants over a period of nearly five years. Read more…

This is another preventive measure when it comes to maintaining cardiovascular health. For those with existing conditions, it’s something that can be quite beneficial.

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