A new cheap and simple blood test could help identify people who are most at risk of dying from heart failure, research has found.
A three-year study found that patients with the highest levels of a particular protein were 50 percent more likely to die from heart complications than those with the lowest levels.
Testing for this protein, called neuropeptide Y (NPY), can help predict how the risk of heart failure may increase, experts say.
Researchers hope a blood test could be used to help treat heart failure patients within five years.
Neil Haring, Professor of Cardiovascular Medicine and Consultant Cardiologist at the University of Oxford, said: ‘The findings of this study are an exciting new development, building on more than 10 years of collaborative research on stress hormones.
We hope that our research will ultimately benefit the growing number of patients who suffer from the severe effects of heart failure every day.
‘We will then investigate whether high levels of neuropeptide Y can affect whether patients receive life-saving treatment such as ICDs within five years before starting blood tests. can do.’
Heart failure occurs when the heart cannot pump blood around the body as well as it should.
It leads to frequent hospitalizations and reduced quality of life, and there is currently no cure.
It is estimated that more than one million people in the UK are currently suffering from possible heart failure and around two million new people are diagnosed in the UK each year.
People gather outside a hospital in Spain on World Heart Day in this September 28, 2013 photo (AFP)
Cardiac nerves release NPY in response to extreme stress.
This can lead to potentially dangerously irregular heartbeats and can cause the smallest blood vessels in the heart’s nerves to close, causing the heart to work harder and blood to reach the heart. Causes narrowing of the arteries.
The study used data from more than 800 people at various stages of heart failure and measured people’s levels of the hormone B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP), which is currently used to diagnose heart failure. It is a hormone.
Participants’ blood pressure and echocardiogram, a type of ultrasound heart scan, were also taken and monitored regularly.
The study found that people with high levels of NPY, who made up one-third of the group, had a 50 percent greater risk of dying from heart complications over three years than those with low levels. It was more.
Measuring NPY along with BNP may help diagnose heart failure patients, identifying those who may be at higher risk of dying, the researchers say.
Early identification of those most at risk can also help doctors decide on the best course of action to treat their patients, which can help identify those who are most likely to But life-saving implants can benefit.
The team hopes to have a blood test for NPY in use in clinics within five years.
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Professor Brian Williams, Chief Scientific and Medical Officer of the British Heart Foundation (BHF), said: ‘This new research shows that a new, cheap and simple blood test could help us to find out more accurately in the future. It can help determine which heart failure patients are at the highest risk of early death.
‘Funding life-saving research like this can only go forward and ensure that people with heart failure receive the best and most appropriate treatment so they can live well.’
The research, published in the European Journal of Heart Failure and funded by the British Heart Foundation, was carried out in collaboration with Professor Pradeep Jhand of the University of Glasgow.
After that, the researchers hope to conduct large-scale experiments using data from patients with high levels of NPY to see if it can accurately identify those who may be at risk. But can benefit from life-saving implants.
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