Heart Disease - General

A new study in the Journal of the American Medical Association found that an inexpensive blood test could predict future heart problems.

The blood test detects levels of a protein in the blood called NT-proBNP. NT-proBNP levels show that a heart is under stress at early stages, when other types of tests like an electrocardiogram and stress test might miss signs of trouble.

Heart disease is an umbrella category that covers a number of conditions, many of which are discussed elswhere on medicine.org.

Doctors are misdiagnosing some cases of heart failure that disproportionately attack women, especially elderly women, and those with high blood pressure and diabetes risk factors, say Toronto researchers reporting in the New England Journal of Medicine. This form of heart failure is called "preserved" ejection fraction heart failure.

A fatal heart attack is often the first symptom of heart disease, but heart attacks are preventable if the disease is discovered early.

Fifty percent of myocardial infarctions occur in patients with no prior history of disease. Cholesterol is believed to be one of the most important risk factors for coronary artery disease, but 35% with established heart disease have acceptable total cholesterol levels. This data would lead us to believe that current methods for detecting heart disease are not sufficient.