Study Suggests Blood Marker for Heart Disease

A study of more than 300 patients found that sphingolipid levels were highly correlated with the incidence and severity of coronary artery disease (CAD), suggesting that a simple, inexpensive blood test could predict the presence and extent of CAD. The study, conducted by scientists from San Diego State University (CA, USA), was presented at the Scientific Sessions of the American Heart Association in New Orleans.

In the study, sphingolipid levels were correlated with CAD as measured by angiography. The results showed that these novel ischemia markers were better predictors of CAD than such conventional risk factors as age, gender, elevated cholesterol, and hypertension. Disease predictability was enhanced when the sphingolipid markers were combined with the strongest risk factors of age and gender to form a myocardial ischemia rating function (MIRF) test. The relative risk of CAD was found to be more than 10 times higher in patients with high MIRF scores. Moreover, the MIRF index was able to predict the number of coronary blood vessels obstructed by CAD.

"We conclude that the serum levels of sphingolipids are potentially strong and robust measures of CAD and may form the basis for a simple screening test to accurately determine the incidence and severity of cardiac ischemia,” said Roger A. Sabbadini, Ph.D., professor of biology at San Diego State University.



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