Researchers discover heart disease biomarker

Reported by Susan Aldridge, PhD, medical journalist

Biomarker test may help predict risk for heart disease patients.
Biomarkers are proteins present in blood which can be indicative of disease. They are a hot research topic, because they might lead to simple blood tests that could catch heart disease, or cancer, at a very early stage without the need for invasive investigation.

Researchers at the University of California, San Francisco, now reveal how a new biomarker called NT-proBNP may reveal important prognostic information for those with heart disease. NT-proBNP is related to a natural hormone called brain natriuretic peptide (BNP). The research was carried out on almost one thousand patients with heart disease who had their biomarker levels measured and were then followed up for an average of 3.7 years, during which time 256 patients either had a cardiovascular event or died.

Those patients in the highest quarter of NT-proBNP biomarker levels had a nearly eight fold greater risk of cardiovascular events or death compared to those in the lowest quarter. These findings could be very important for those diagnosed with heart disease, for it could pinpoint those who are most at risk of a heart attack or stroke and they could be offered more intensive treatment.

Source
Journal of the American Medical Association 10th January 2007 Volume 197 pages 169-176