Can you see your future?
Can you see your future?
A recent study showed that there was an extremely effective way to predict the future…of your heart health.
In the Women’s Health Study, a long term research study of 28,000 healthy, female health professionals followed for almost 30 years, a one-time measurement of three separate blood tests: high-sensitivity CRP (hsCRP) , LDL cholesterol, and lipoprotein(a) levels led to powerfully accurate predictions of future health status.
What are these blood tests, and what do they represent?
- High sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP) is a protein that is a well-known marker of inflammation. If you have higher levels of inflammation in your body, the level of this protein will go up. And we know that higher levels of inflammation are associated with lots of future health issues. Elevated levels of hsCRP are closely associated with obesity, fatty liver disease, and insulin resistance as well as with the development of diabetes, hypertension, and heart failure. This association of high-sensitivity CRP with the risk of cardiovascular disease probably reflects the important role of inflammation in the formation of plaque in our arteries and in predicting the risk of this plaque rupturing and causing a heart attack.
- Lipoprotein(a), or Lp(a), is a protein that is found in your bloodstream and is at least 90% genetically determined, which means that diet and exercise don’t affect it and it is passed down from generation to generation. Because it doesn’t substantially change over the course of your life, a single measurement will reflect long-term cumulative exposure to this risk factor. Having an elevated Lp(a) is a known powerful risk factor for both strokes and heart attacks.
- LDL-cholesterol is of course the traditional way we measure how much cholesterol is being transported in LDL particles. While there are more accurate ways to measure this, in this study it was sufficient to predict long term future risk.
The women with the highest levels of these blood tests were compared to those with the lowest values. The researchers found that the risk of a major adverse cardiovascular event was 70% higher for women with the highest hsCRP, 36% higher for those with the highest LDL cholesterol (compared to those with the lowest), and 33% higher for those women with the highest lipoprotein(a) (again compared to those with the lowest).
And if you had the highest levels for ALL 3 markers at the same time? Your risk of a major cardiac event in the next 30 years was 163% higher than if they were all normal!
So this research study proved that measuring these tests even just once allowed us to see the future of these women.
What does this mean? It is time to advocate for yourselves and request these tests be obtained if your doctor doesn’t order them. EVERYONE (men too!) should have three blood tests obtained. The Lp(a) level only needs to be checked once, but the other two should be checked at least annually.
We can no longer be satisfied with the old traditional method of merely checking cholesterol levels alone in the “fasting lipid panel”. This tired old approach is not enough, and the research and guidelines have moved forward.
In the words of the doctors who wrote the editorial commenting on the research study: “The best way to avoid cardiovascular disease in the future is to reduce risk factors today, because tomorrow will soon be here.”
We couldn’t have said it any better ourselves.
At Wisconsin Cardiology Associates, we counsel our patients to take control of their risk factors and healthy problems by focusing on living and being healthy: aim for 30 mins of moderate intensity exercise 5-7 days/week and try to eat a healthy, plant-based diet, emphasizing fruits, vegetables, beans, lentils, whole grains and nuts.
References:
Ridker, P et al. NEJM Published August 31, 2024
Blumenthal RS and Martin S, NEJM Published August 31, 2024
Photo credit: @viniciusamano
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