Predicting a stroke or heart attack that could occur decades later, is it possible? A recent study shows that the dosage of two types of fats, LDL cholesterol (the “bad” cholesterol) and lipoproteins, as well as that of C-reactive protein (CRP) – a marker of inflammation – could predict the risk of cardiovascular disease in a woman 30 years later.
Why these three markers? LDL cholesterol and lipoproteins are risk factors for atherosclerosis, a disease characterized by the deposition of plaque composed mainly of lipids on the inner wall of the arteries. As for C-reactive protein, it plays an important role in innate immunity. Immune cells are activated when the body defends itself against injury and infection, but also when fatty plaques accumulate in the arteries.. “This creates a hyperinflammatory environment in which plaque can form, grow or even rupture – and cause cardiovascular events,” specifies in a press release the National institute of health (United States) who supported this study.
Study started between 1992 and 1995
The results, presented at the European Society of Cardiology congress, were published on August 31. In The New England journal of medicine. The researchers collected blood samples from 27,939 women. They were followed for 30 years, starting the study in good health, between 1992 and 1995, at an average age of 55. Among them, 3,662 women had suffered a major cardiovascular event – stroke, myocardial infarction, death related to cardiovascular disease… The researchers wanted to know how and how long before the measurements of CRP, cholesterol and lipoprotein alone or all three combined predicted these events.
Thus, women with the highest levels of LDL cholesterol had a 36% increased associated risk of heart disease compared with those with the lowest levels. Those with the highest levels of lipoproteins had a 33% increased associated risk, and those with the highest levels of CRP had a 70% increased associated risk.
The importance of primary prevention
When all three markers were assessed at the same time, participants with the highest levels had a more than 1.5-fold increased risk of stroke and a three-fold increased risk of coronary heart disease compared with women with the lowest levels.
The results of this study prove that it is possible to detect and, above all, prevent cardiovascular diseases and accidents well before the event.. “We can’t treat what we don’t measure, and we hope these findings will help identify even earlier ways to detect and prevent heart disease,” said Prof. Paul M. Ridker, author of the study and director of the Center for Cardiovascular Disease Prevention at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston (USA). For prevention, researchers are focusing on primary prevention: regular physical activity, healthy eating, prevention of overweight/obesity, stress management, no alcohol or tobacco.
Please note: Only women were evaluated in this study. However, researchers expect to find the same results in men.
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