NHLBI Media Availability: Newer Biomarkers Predict Cardiovascular
Risk but Offer Only Modest Improvement in Risk Prediction over Established
Risk Factors
Results of a long-term Framingham Heart Study investigation of
multiple biomarkers for the prediction of first major cardiovascular
events and death are reported in the December 21 issue of the New
England Journal of Medicine (NEJM).
In the study, scientists followed 3209 participants in the Framingham
Heart Study for 10 years and measured 10 of the most promising ‘novel’
biomarkers for predicting the risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD).
The newer biomarkers such as natriuretic peptides, C-reactive protein,
fibrinogen, urinary albumin, and homocysteine were compared with
established risk factors such as high blood pressure, diabetes,
and high cholesterol. Measuring several biomarkers simultaneously,
referred to as the “multimarker” approach, enabled the
scientists to stratify risk. They found that persons with high multimarker
scores had a risk of death four times as great and a risk of major
cardiovascular events almost two times as great as persons with
low multimarker scores. However, the use of multiple biomarkers
added only moderately to the overall prediction of risk based on
conventional risk factors.
“Multiple Biomarkers for the Prediction of First Major Cardiovascular
Events and Death," was funded by the National Heart, Lung,
and Blood Institute (NHLBI) of the National Institutes of Health.
Daniel Levy, M.D., Director of the Framingham Heart Study, is available
to comment on the study’s affirmation of the importance of
traditional risk factors. He can also discuss the promise of new
biomarkers --despite their modest enhancement over conventional
risk factors-- in identifying individuals at high risk for cardiovascular
events. In addition, Levy can comment on NHLBI’s recently
announced large-scale biomarker project, a proposed biomarker consortium
to conduct research on novel CVD biomarkers and develop new diagnostic
tests to identify individuals at high risk for CVD and its risk
factors.
To schedule interviews, call the NHLBI Communications Office at
(301) 496-4236.
Part of the National Institutes of Health, the National Heart,
Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) plans, conducts, and supports
research related to the causes, prevention, diagnosis, and treatment
of heart, blood vessel, lung, and blood diseases; and sleep disorders.
The Institute also administers national health education campaigns
on women and heart disease, healthy weight for children, and other
topics. NHLBI press releases and other materials are available online
at: www.nhlbi.nih.gov.
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) — The Nation's
Medical Research Agency — includes 27 Institutes and Centers
and is a component of the U. S. Department of Health and Human Services.
It is the primary federal agency for conducting and supporting basic,
clinical, and translational medical research, and it investigates
the causes, treatments, and cures for both common and rare diseases.
For more information about NIH and its programs, visit http://www.nih.gov.
|