Enzyme-Based Test for Cardiovascular Risk

A new assay is being offered that determines the level of lipoprotein-associated phospholipase (Lp-PLA2), identified as a strong independent predictor of cardiac events.

Lp-PLA2 is an enzyme found in human blood and arterial plaques. In an earlier study, individuals with elevated levels of Lp-PLA2 were found to have as much as a two-fold risk for coronary heart disease. Lp-PLA2 was independently predictive of those at risk when compared to both traditional risk factors such as low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol and markers of systemic inflammation such as C-reactive protein (CRP). The test, called PLAC, is being offered by Mayo Medical Laboratories (Rochester, MN, USA), the reference laboratory for Mayo Clinic.

"This test is a new method to help evaluate the risk of cardiovascular disease and events,” said Joseph McConnell, Ph.D., co-director of the Biochemical Genetics Laboratory at Mayo Clinic. "Nearly half of all patients who suffer heart attacks have normal cholesterol levels.” As with other emerging risk markers, the PLAC test may be used most appropriately to guide risk reduction therapy in those judged to be at intermediate risk of heart disease. More research is required to firmly establish the clinical utility of the test, said Mayo Clinic.






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