A blood test may be able to identify individuals on their way to developing hypertension well before the so-called silent killer appears on the blood pressure machine.
In a new study published in Circulation on Sept. 1, researchers from Johns Hopkins Medicine analyzed the blood samples of over 5,000 individuals using a more sensitive version of a blood test that has long been used to verify damage of heart muscle from heart attack.
The results showed that those with subtle increase in the level of cardiac troponin T, a protein released by injured heart cells and an indicator of heart muscle damage, have increased odds of being diagnosed with high blood pressure within a few years.
The researchers likewise found that the test could also identify individuals with risks for left ventricular hypertrophy, the thickening of the heart's lower left chamber, which is often caused by untreated high blood pressure.
"Our data suggest that the high-sensitivity troponin test could flag people with normal blood pressure in the doctor's office who are at high risk for hypertension and other poor outcomes," said study researcher Elizabeth Selvin, from Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.
Study researcher Bill McEvoy, from the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, said that identifying people who are at risk for hypertension and those who are still in the early stages of the illness would allow health service providers to intervene much sooner by either prescribing medication or urging the patient to make lifestyle changes before the condition fully develops and damage organs.
Hypertension does not initially exhibit symptoms but overtime, it becomes a major risk factor for stroke, chronic kidney disease, heart disease, artery disease and aortic aneurysm. Changes in lifestyle and diet can help reduce risks of health complication but medication is still important for those whose lifestyle changes are not effective enough.
If the reliability of using the standard troponin T test, a gold standard screening tool for cardiac muscle damage caused by heart attacks, as a screening tool for hypertension is confirmed in other clinical trials, it could help ward off complications.
The test costs between $10 and $20 albeit the one used by the researchers is a more sensitive version that is not yet available for clinical use in the U.S. but is used across Europe. The highly sensitive test can detect trace amounts of troponin released by heart cells that are injured by blood pressure spikes that may go unnoticed for years.
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