The combined measurement of three biomarkers has made it possible to establish that it is possible to predict, up to three decades in advance, the risk of cardiovascular events in women. A simple blood test could then detect these risk factors – simple and modifiable – thus facilitating the implementation of prevention strategies and widespread screening.
in summary
According to a study presented at the European Society of Cardiology Congress, the risks of cardiovascular disease could be predicted in women 30 years in advance. The method: dosagedosage “bad” cholesterol, lipoproteins and C-reactive protein. Explanations.
Predicting a stroke or heart attack that could occur decades later, is it possible? A recent study shows that the dosage of two types of fats, LDL cholesterol (the “bad” cholesterol) and lipoproteins, as well as that of C-reactive protein (CRP) — a marker ofinflammationinflammation –, could predict the risk of cardiovascular disease in a woman 30 years later.
Why these three markers?
LDL cholesterol and lipoproteins are risk factorsrisk factors of the occurrence of atherosclerosis, a disease characterized by the deposition of a plaque composed essentially of lipidslipids on the inner wall of the arteriesarteries. As for C-reactive protein, it plays an important role in theinnate immunityinnate immunityImmune cells become activated when the body defends itself against injury and infection, but also when fatty plaques build up in the arteries.. “This creates a hyperinflammatory environment in which plaque can form, grow or even rupture — and cause cardiovascular events,” specifies in a press release the National Institute of Health (United States) who supported this study.
Chronic inflammation can interact with lipids and increase the risk of cardiovascular disease and stroke. © Hananeko_Studio, Shutterstock.com
Women followed for thirty years, between 1992 and 1995
The results, presented at the European Society of Cardiology congress, were published on August 31. In The New England Journal of Medicine. The researchers collected blood samples from 27,939 women. They were followed for 30 years, starting the study in good health, between 1992 and 1995, at an average age of 55. Among them, 3,662 women had suffered a major cardiovascular event — stroke, myocardial infarction, death related to cardiovascular disease … The researchers wanted to know how and how long before the measurements of CRP, cholesterol and lipoprotein, alone or all three combined, predicted these events.
Thus, women with the highest levels of LDL cholesterol had a 36% increased associated risk of heart disease compared with those with the lowest levels. Those with the highest levels of lipoproteins had a 33% increased associated risk, and those with the highest levels of CRP had a 70% increased associated risk.
The importance of early detection and prevention
When all three markers were assessed at the same time, participants with the highest levels had a more than 1.5-fold increased risk of stroke and a three-fold increased risk of coronary heart disease compared with women with the lowest levels.
The results of this study prove that it is possible to detect and, above all, prevent cardiovascular diseases and accidents well before the event.“We can't treat what we don't measure, and we hope these findings will help identify even earlier ways to detect and prevent heart disease,” said Prof. Paul M. Ridker, author of the study and director of the Center for Cardiovascular Disease Prevention At Brigham and Women's Hospital from Boston (United States). For the preventionpreventionresearchers are focusing on primary prevention: regular physical activity, healthy eating, prevention of overweight and obesity, stress management, noalcoholalcohol nor tobacco.
Note: Only women were evaluated in this study. However, the researchers expect to find the same results in men.
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