Researchers created a test that quickly identifies high risk of heart attacks – from the comfort of your home. It is just as accurate as blood tests and blood pressure measurements. Read more here.
„A heart attack often comes out of the blue,” Prof. Göran Bergström says. „Many of those who suffer heart attacks are apparently healthy and asymptomatic but have fatty deposits in the coronary arteries – known as atherosclerosis. Our test makes it possible to identify almost two-thirds of people aged 50–64 who have significant coronary atherosclerosis and are therefore at high risk of cardiovascular disease.”
The home test consists of 14 questions that take five to eight minutes to answer. These questions relate to factors including age, gender, weight, waist circumference, smoking, high blood pressure, high blood fats, diabetes, and family history of cardiovascular disease.
According to the study, by combining information from the responses in a special algorithm, the home test can detect 65 % of individuals at the highest risk of cardiovascular disease. „The results show that our home test is as accurate as a clinic examination using blood tests and blood pressure measurements,” continues Bergström. „If we can make the test widely available within healthcare, it can save lives and prevent suffering by helping us to identify those who are at high risk of heart attack or who are currently undertreated.”
The study is based on data from 25,000 individuals aged 50–64. All participants had their coronary arteries examined using computed tomography, which provides an image of the degree of atherosclerosis.
comparing the images of the heart with questionnaires completed by the participants, the researchers were able to see which factors had the closest links with the degree of atherosclerosis. The research team has also launched studies in Sweden and on data from the United States to evaluate how the test works on different groups.
This article is based on a press release by the university of Gothenburg. You can find the original publication here.
Image Source: Lukas Blazek, unsplash
