Could a blood test help predict who is at risk of heart disease and stroke?

Embargoed until: Publicly released: 2024-05-14 01:00

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Screening the general population with a blood test to look for markers of cardiovascular disease would only lead to a small improvement in our ability to predict who is at risk of diseases such as heart disease and stroke, according to a study which includes Australian authors. The study looked at the levels of five proteins in the blood of people in the general population and found that adding these markers to the usual cardiovascular risk factors that doctors look for improved their ability to predict cardiovascular disease. The biggest benefits were for people aged over 65 and for helping to predict heart failure and death. A linked editorial concludes that the cost-effectiveness and clinical usefulness of adding these tests to standard risk prediction tools are still uncertain.

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conference: JAMA

Research:Paper

Organisation/s: Monash University, Edith Cowan University, The University of Sydney, University Heart and Vascular Center Hamburg, Germany

Funder: This study was supported by the European Union project euCanSHare (Horizon 2020, No. 847770). The KORA study was initiated and financed by the Helmholtz Zentrum München– German Research Center for Environmental Health, which is funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research and by the State of Bavaria. Data collection in the KORA study is done in cooperation with the University Hospital of Augsburg. The Malmö Diet and Cancer and Malmö Preventive project were supported by Lund University infrastructure grant (STYR 2019/2046). The MORGAM Project has received funding from European Union projects MORGAM (Biomed, BMH4-CT98-3183), GenomEUtwin (FP5, QLG2-CT-2002-01254), ENGAGE (FP7, HEALTH-F4-2007-201413), CHANCES (FP7, HEALTH-F3-2010-242244), BiomarCaRE (FP7, HEALTH-F2-2011-278913), euCanSHare (Horizon 2020, No. 825903), AFFECT-EU (Horizon 2020, No. 847770), and Medical Research Council, London (G0601463, No. 80983; Biomarkers in the MORGAM populations). This funding has supported central coordination, workshops, and part of the activities of the MORGAM data center, the MORGAM laboratories, and the MORGAM participating centers. The MONICA project is funded by Umeå University, the county councils in Norr and Västerbotten, and the King Gustaf V and Queen Victoria’s Foundation of Freemasons. Dr Neumann is supported by the Heisenberg programme of the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (German Research Foundation). Dr Benjamin received funding from grants HHSN268201500001I, 75N92019D00031, R01 HL092577, R01 HL64753, R01 HL076784, and R01 AG028321 from the National Institutes of Health. Dr Lewis was funded by a National Heart Foundation of Australia Future Leader Fellowship (ID: 107323). Dr Niiranen was supported by the Finnish Foundation for Cardiovascular Research, the Research Council of Finland (grants 321351 and 354447) and the Sigrid Jusélius Foundation. The Trøndelag Health Study (HUNT Study) is a collaboration between the HUNT Research Centre (Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Norwegian University of Science and Technology), the Trøndelag County Council, the Central Norway Regional Health Authority, and the Norwegian Institute of Public Health.We acknowledge generous support from the KG Jebsen Center for Cardiac Biomarkers (grant SKGJ-MED-024 awarded to Drs Lyngbakken and Omland). Dr Zeller is funded by the German Centre for Cardiovascular Research (grants 81Z0710101 and 81Z0710102).

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