One blood test could predict women's heart disease risk up to 30 years in advance, according to a study.

Detecting a woman's future risk of heart disease could be as straightforward as conducting a single blood test to identify three specific risk factors.

According to research published in The New England Journal of Medicine and presented at the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) Congress, it has been found that...

In 1993, a study was conducted on nearly 30,000 women, aged 55, which measured two types of fat in the bloodstream and a certain type of protein through a blood test. The researchers then monitored the participants' health for a 30-year period.

According to Dr. Paul Ridker, director of the Center for Cardiovascular Disease Prevention at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, the strongest predictor of risk was a simple blood measure of inflammation known as high sensitivity C-reactive protein, or hsCRP, followed by cholesterol and lipoprotein(a).

By anticipating the predicted risks at 20 and 30 years, we can tailor specific therapies for individual patients, rather than adopting a generic "one-size-fits-all" approach, as he stated.

According to Mayo Clinic, CRP is a protein produced by the liver that increases during inflammation in the body.

High levels of the protein indicate an elevated risk of heart disease.

The "bad" cholesterol, or LDL cholesterol, can accumulate in the arteries and increase the likelihood of heart attack or stroke, according to Mayo Clinic.

Lp(a) is a type of LDL cholesterol that can also lead to plaque accumulation in the arteries.

"This is a large, convincing study that puts together three predictive blood tests that haven't been looked at in this way before."

The study revealed that women with higher levels of LDL cholesterol had a 36% increased risk of heart disease compared to those with lower levels.

Those with higher levels of Lp(a) had a 33% increased risk.

Women face a 70% higher risk when exposed to the highest levels of CRP.

The study revealed that women with high levels of all three measures were 1.5 times more likely to have a stroke and over three times as likely to develop coronary heart disease.

Few doctors measure hsCRP and Lp(a) compared to cholesterol, according to Ridker.

"Medicine's truism is that doctors won't treat what they don't measure."

The researcher was astonished by the fact that a single combination blood test could accurately predict risk 30 years in advance.

"It is a truism of medicine that doctors will not treat what they do not measure."

He stated that it reveals the amount of silent risk we are unaware of and provides an opportunity to begin preventive measures earlier in life.

Dr. Marc Siegel, a senior medical analyst for Planet Chronicle and a clinical professor of medicine at NYU Langone Medical Center, stated that the study represents a "big step forward" in utilizing a combination of blood tests to assess a woman's cardiac risk, even though he was not involved in the research.

Siegel informed Planet Chronicle Digital that a comprehensive study has been conducted, combining three previously unexamined predictive blood tests.

An elevated inflammation marker (CRP) indicates a 70% increased risk for heart disease due to the link between inflammation and heart attacks.

"Both LDL and Lp(a) have been linked to an increased risk of heart disease in previous studies."

In the future, blood markers and artificial intelligence will be used together to predict the risk of heart disease and stroke, according to Siegel.

Ridker advises patients to request their physicians to measure hsCRP and Lp(a) levels based on the research findings.

"The time has come for our guidelines to change."

In Ridker's experience, men tend to be more concerned about heart disease than women.

Unfortunately, our conventional screening protocols seldom detect at-risk women until they are in their late 60s or 70s, as stated.

"For prevention to be most effective, it should begin in our 30s and 40s."

Some patients may require drug therapies to reduce inflammation and lower cholesterol levels, despite initial prevention efforts focusing on a heart-healthy diet, regular exercise, smoking cessation, and stress management, as per Ridker.

The researchers acknowledged that the main limitation of the study was that the participants were all health professionals.

In other settings, it is also true for men, and minority individuals face an even greater concern, according to Ridker.

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The study was supported by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI), and the National Cancer Institute (NCI).