A simple blood test can reveal a person's risk of suffering from a heart attack within five years, a new study has found.
The immune system produces molecules called antibodies and high levels of these are related to low risks of developing heart problems despite other contributing risk factors.
When a person's blood pressure and cholesterol levels are high, the body's protective IgG antibodies protect it from a possible heart attack. The new blood test analyzes the levels of IgG antibodies.
"As well as improving the way we tell who is at the highest risk of a heart attack so that we can give them appropriate treatments, we now have a new avenue to follow in future work," said Dr. Ramzi Khamis, the study's lead researcher and a consultant cardiologist at the National Heart and Lung Institute of Imperial College London (ICL).
Research teams from the University College London and ICL analyzed over 1,700 individuals who took part in the Anglo-Scandinavian Cardiac Outcomes Trial (ASCOT). These participants had risks of developing heart problems.
After 5.5 years, 470 patients suffered a stroke or heart attack. To see the discrepancy, the cases were compared to a 1,283-participant control group.
The team found that participants with the highest levels of IgG antibodies carried 58 percent reduced risks of developing coronary heart disease or heart attack during the 5-year study period. They also had 38 percent lower chances of suffering from heart events such as stroke.
Professor Jeremy Pearson, associate medical director at the British Heart Foundation (BHF), said that studies like this one are important in advancing the diagnostic procedures for heart attacks.
Heart attacks affect thousands of families in the United Kingdom each year. New methods for determining heart attack risks can help physicians "act fast" and help in preventing a life-threatening incident, added Pearson.
At present, doctors calculate a person's risk of suffering from future heart problems by factoring in medical history, age, sex, as well as blood pressure and cholesterol levels.
The researchers hope the findings will aid further studies in looking at factors that help some people develop immune systems that seem to defend them from heart attacks. They also plan to find new ways on how to strengthen the immune system so it can help in heart disease prevention.
The findings were published in the EbioMedicine journal on June 19. The BHF, National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Comprehensive Biomedical Research Centre and the Wellcome Trust funded the research.
