Quick £40 blood test ‘predicts YOUR risk of fatal heart attack – in the next seven years’
A QUICK £40 blood test predicts how likely heart attack patients are to die in the next seven years, experts claim.
The simple method could save tens of thousands of lives each year by measuring levels of a key molecule that is produced by bacteria that lives in the gut.
Patients found to have high levels of trimethylamine N-oxide (TMAO) were six times more likely to die, or suffer a heart attack or stroke in the next six months.
And, they were twice as likely to die in the next seven years, Swiss and American researchers discovered.
Across the UK, 190 people die each day from a heart attack - that equates to more than 71,000 deaths each year, according to the British Heart Foundation.
Heart disease is the leading cause of death across the world, and kills one in four people in the UK.
The bacteria that live in our gut digest food and in doing so they produce metabolites.
These molecules can have a significant impact on the heart and blood vessels.
The researchers found testing for TMAO, which is produced when you eat red meat, eggs and dairy products, is a reliable and quick way to predict a person's risk of early death.
Researchers examined TMAO levels in blood samples taken from 530 patients, aged over 18 who arrived at an emergency department at Cleveland Clinic in Ohio with chest pains.
And they looked at another 1,683 patients who underwent coronary angiography - a procedure that is used to detect blockages in the coronary arteries - within five days of arriving at hospital with chest pain.
Professor Thomas Lüscher, chairman of cardiology at the University Heart Centre, Zurich, said: "We found that the Cleveland patients with higher TMAO levels were more likely to experience a major adverse cardiovascular event at 30 days, six months and seven years after their admittance to hospital."
He said these patients were still at high risk, after researchers accounted for other factors such as smoking, diabetes, cholesterol levels, and blood pressure - compared to those with lower TMAO levels.
"Those with (TMAO) levels in the top 25 per cent were around six times more likely to die, suffer a heart attack or stroke or require revascularisation at 30 days and six months, and nearly twice as likely to die within seven years," Prof Lüscher added.
The researchers said they hope their discovery will lead to new advise and treatment for patients to help prevent heart disease.
For example, people found to have high TMAO levels could be told to change their diets, cutting out red meat, eggs and dairy.
And, it could lead to new drug treatments to prevent the production of TMAO.
Their findings, published in the European Heart Journal, also predicted higher risks of early death in patients who did not show common signs of heart damage.
We found that... patients with higher TMAO levels were more likely to experience a major adverse cardiovascular event at 30 days, six months and seven years
Professor Thomas Lüscher
Measuring for a protein in the blood, troponin T, which is released when the heart muscle is damaged during a heart attack for example, is a standard test for patients with suspected heart problems.
The study's authors said the findings mark the first time TMAO levels have been linked to both short and long-term risk of death from heart problems in patients coming to A&E with chest pain.
"We think that rapid TMAO testing could now contribute to the identification of higher risk patients, with the potential to speed up the time between initial evaluation and cardiac catheterisation," the researchers added.
"This could help salvage more of the heart muscle that is under stress, as time is muscle."
The findings are published in the European Heart Journal.
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