Private MD News

Testing for biomarker could improve cardiovascular care

Category: Heart Health and Cholesterol

A team of researchers from Massachusetts General Hospital is recommending that in addition to standard cholesterol testing, doctors should screen patients at risk for heart health complications for another biomarker that is associated with heart attacks, strokes and cardiovascular events.

The said that higher levels of the protein NT-proBNP are recognized as contributing to an increased risk of heart failure, arrhythmia, stroke, heart attack and death. The wrote in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology that screening patients for this protein could cut the number of hospitalizations for these conditions in half.

"The major lessons learned from our study are that setting and achieving low NT-proBNP goals is essential and when those goals are met through excellent patient care, we can expect substantial improvements in outcomes compared to standard care," said lead researcher James Januzzi.

He added that this an example of the benefits of personalized medicine, which many experts have said promises to bring significant improvements to healthcare. By understanding a patient's entire health state, treatments can be tailored to their needs.