A blood test that may identify those with heart disease is being tested by researchers at Duke University (North Carolina). Based on a set of genetic markers that indicate both the presence and the level of artery blockages, researchers are hopeful that this test will one day replace more expensive and time consuming preliminary testing, such as echocardiogram and exercise stress tests.
If a person having chest pain could be assessed for the presence and degree of coronary artery disease (CAD) based on a blood test, they could proceed directly on to catheterization and either stenting or bypass surgery. This kind of test could be very useful to assess a person acutely having chest pain who presents to the emergency room, or to streamline the assessment of a person at risk for heart disease who presents to their health care provider with symptoms suggesting heart disease.
Currently individuals who are suspected to have CAD undergo other tests first, because they are less invasive and less costly than going directly to catheterization. These tests also limit exposure to x-ray radiation. Insurance companies often require these preliminary tests to “prove” the presence of CAD before proceeding to the cath lab. Unfortunately these tests don’t always determine the presence or absence of CAD, resulting in cardiac catheterization anyway. This process is both time consuming for the patient, expensive to our health care system, and allows time for an untoward event to happen.
The researchers report that the current study, published in the journal Circulation: Cardiovascular Genetics, is based on a small number of participants and will need to be verified in a larger number of people before the blood test is approved for use. It is currently undergoing additional trials at 28 sites around the US, with a wide variety of study recipients.
Commenting on the study results, Dr. Sidney Smith, a UNC-Chapel Hill cardiologist, noted, “If these findings hold for this broad group of population, the test could prove to be a valuable supplement in our management and treatment of patients with coronary heart disease.”
Dr. Joe Falsone, an invasive cardiologist at Wake Heart & Vascular Associates, called the discovery “potentially exciting news,” and said “we could probably use this as a screening tool for patients we thought were at high risk.”
For more information about participating in clinical trials at Duke please see “Research at Duke Medicine.” ClinicalTrials.gov is a registry of federally and privately supported clinical trials conducted in the United States and around the world.
Take care.
Laurie
