Mayo Clinic Researchers: Use of
Simple, Noninvasive Test May Help Show Heart Disease Risk in Adults
With No Symptoms
ROCHESTER, Minn., Feb. 20 A
Mayo Clinic research team used a simple, noninvasive tool (arterial
tonometer) to discover an association between stiffness in arteries
and the presence and amount of coronary artery calcium, leading to the
possibility of more accurate assessment of heart disease risk in
adults with no symptoms, according to findings published in the
current Hypertension, a journal of the American Heart Association.
"About 40 percent of the
American public is considered to be at moderate risk for heart
disease," says Iftikhar Kullo, M.D., of Mayo Clinic, the lead author
of the study. "Nearly half the heart attacks come without warning,
which means we need to do a better job of screening people. This test
has that potential."
The test, aortic pulse wave
velocity (aPWV), measures how fast the pulse wave travels down the
aorta, the major artery arising from the heart. It is a potential
screening tool because it is quick (takes 10-15 minutes), painless,
noninvasive and likely to be less expensive compared with other
cardiac screening tests, Dr. Kullo says. For the test, the patient
lies on a bed and a pencil-like device (tonometer) is placed on the
skin over the carotid artery (in the neck) and then the femoral artery
(in the upper thigh). The tonometer measures the pressure wave inside
the artery, and the information is fed into a computer for calculation
of aPWV. A slower pulse wave means the artery is more elastic and
healthier; a faster wave means the artery is stiffer and less healthy,
he says.
The research found that study
participants with stiffer arteries also had a greater presence and
amount of calcium in the coronary arteries, an indicator of coronary
atherosclerosis (plaque buildup). Previous research showed aPWV
predicts cardiovascular disease in older adults, but the association
of aPWV and the amount of coronary artery calcium (CAC) in the general
population has been unknown, Dr. Kullo says.
The association between artery
stiffness and CAC strengthens the case for using aPWV as a screening
tool, such as in adults with moderate risk, those with a family
history of heart disease, patients with high blood pressure, and those
with kidney disease, Dr. Kullo says.
Researchers tested 401
participants (213 men and 188 women) between the ages of 32 and 84 --
none with a history of heart attack or stroke -- for the
community-based research between 2002 and 2004. The median age was 60.
This research also discovered a significant interaction between aPWV
and smoking history; the association between aPWV and the presence and
quantity of CAC was stronger in smokers than in nonsmokers, he says.
Co-authors of the paper are
Patrick Sheedy, M.D., and Stephen Turner, M.D., of Mayo Clinic,
Rochester, Minn.; and Lawrence Bielak, D.D.S., M.P.H., and Patricia
Peyser, Ph.D., of the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. Mayo Clinic
and the University of Michigan collaborated on this research.
- - - -
CONTACT: Traci Klein, Mayo
Clinic Public Affairs, 507-284-5005 (days), 507-284-2511 (evenings),
newsbureau@mayo.edu
|
