This Simple Test Could Predict Heart Attack and Stroke Risk 30 Years in Advance, Says Huge New Study

One in five women will experience a stroke, which is one of the leading causes of death for women. Over three million women have a heart attack every year. These health crises are serious and scarily common, and taking preventive steps is crucial.

Related: 8 Real People Explain Exactly What Having a Heart Attack Feels Like

Knowing your risk level ahead of time is valuable knowledge, in addition to health-promoting practices. According to a recent study in The New England Journal of Medicine, that may be possible sooner than you think.

The Findings of a Groundbreaking New Study

Brigham and Women’s Hospital, a Harvard affiliate, conducted a study with nearly 28,000 American women. The researchers sought to predict the risk of major cardiac events with a 30-year follow-up period using a blood test.

At the time, the average participant age was 54.7 years. Between 2.5 percent and 25 percent already had hypertension, diabetes, a family history of myocardial infarction (aka a heart attack) or currently smoking. However, almost all were also white with good access to healthcare.

To carry out this study, researchers tested the levels of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP) and lipoprotein(a) in their blood. This assessed three markers of cardiac events, respectively: “bad” cholesterol, vascular inflammation and a genetically determined lipid fraction. Basically, heart attack and stroke contributors.

Related: ‘I Almost Died of a Stroke At Age 43—Here’s the First Symptom I Wish I’d Paid Attention To’

Their findings were noteworthy. At the 30-year follow-up, 3,662 major cardiovascular events occurred. Women with the highest levels of those three markers indeed had a higher risk of experiencing one.

More specifically, a 70 percent greater risk was observed with the women who had the highest levels of hs-CRP, a 36 percent greater risk with the highest levels of LDL-C and a 33 percent greater risk with the highest levels of Lp(a). And of course, having higher levels of more than one marker exacerbated a person’s risk even more. The association was especially high when it came to the likelihood of a stroke.

While these sets of numbers (aka the probabilities and the 30-year piece) are new, these tests are not, according to a cardiologist. “We have been using these tests for decades, but this is a nice study to help remind us that heart disease is still the number one killer of women,” says Dr. Bradley Serwer, MD, an interventional cardiologist and chief medical officer at VitalSolution.

He gives further context to the helpfulness of this testing (and testing in general), saying “There is no perfect single test to predict the future, but by using a combination of tests, we can help assess an individual’s risk of having heart disease.”

Generally speaking, his main recommendation is regular aerobic exercise, smoking cessation and adding heart-healthy foods to your plate. With that said, knowing the results of tests like these provides additional information that's helpful to know. “In those with elevated CRP, Lipo (a) or LDL, we should be more aggressive in lowering their cholesterol and blood pressure,” he adds.

Related: ‘I’m a Cardiologist, and This Is What a Typical Day of Heart-Healthy Eating Looks Like for Me’

What You Can Do to Decrease Your Risk

Many of the same steps can help moderate your levels of all three of those markers, easily enough. For the most part, you’ve probably heard these tips before (or at least caught them above):

• Avoid smoking, vaping and other tobacco products

• Add heart-healthy foods into your diet, such as spinach, berries, beans, salmon, dark chocolate, oranges and red wine

• Aim for 30 minutes of aerobic exercise a day for five days a week (if you don’t already do this, slowly work your way up while working with a healthcare provider)

• Engage in stress reduction activities, such as deep breathing, meditation, listening to music, dancing, taking a walk and guided imagery

• Talk to your healthcare provider about if and how your medications are contributing to your risk

• Talk to your healthcare provider about medications that might reduce your risk, such as statin medications or blood pressure meds for heart attack risk

While the news about this blood test is interesting and encouraging, most of the action steps are typical, at-home ones. Eat dark chocolate (*wink*), don’t smoke, move your body and try to relieve your stress as much as possible.

Up Next: 

Related: High Cholesterol Can Be Genetic—Here’s How To Know if That’s the Case for You

Sources

• Dr. Bradley Serwer, MD, an interventional cardiologist and chief medical officer

• Women and Stroke, American Stroke Association

• Matters of the Heart: Cardiovascular Disease in U.S. Women, Missouri Medicine

• Inflammation, Cholesterol, Lipoprotein(a), and 30-Year Cardiovascular Outcomes in Women, The New England Journal of Medicine

• LDL Cholesterol, Cleveland Clinic

• Elevated Lipoprotein (a), National Lipid Association