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Page: << Prev | 1 | 2 "Even if your other biomarkers were normal, if MPO levels were high, you were at higher risk," Hazen said. "The magnitude of the risk is roughly comparable to the risk of elevated LDL cholesterol."
LDL cholesterol collects in fatty plaques that eventually block arteries. It is a major target of medications aimed at reducing risk of heart attack and stroke, most notably statins.
The first commercially available test for MPO levels was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration a year ago, Hazen said. "Its first intended use is for evaluating people with a history of chest pain, people who go to the emergency room or cardiologist," he said. His hope is that it eventually will become a standard screening tool.
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"We believe it is potentially of utility for people who you don't know may be at risk," he said.
A high MPO reading now indicates that the physician should concentrate on reducing known risk factors, but MPO itself could eventually become a target of drug treatment, he said.
"One fascinating aspect of this study is that this marker of inflammation precedes by nearly a decade the development of clinical coronary disease," Dr. Christopher Cannon, an associate professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School, said in a statement. "This suggests MPO could be used to catch the disease in a very early stage and help in true prevention of coronary artery disease."
MPO might also be a marker for unstable plaque, deposits that can erupt to emit artery-blocking fragments, Cannon added. "More study is needed, but among hundreds of markers tested to date, MPO looks like a keeper that will one day become part of clinical care," he said.
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The known risk factors for cardiovascular disease are described by the American Heart Association.
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