'Wave' Test Could Spot Heart Disease

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In a message dated 2/28/06 6:54:21 PM Eastern Standard Time,

presentdayprods@... writes:

> 'Wave' Test Could Spot Heart Disease

> 02.28.06, 12:00 AM ET

>

> TUESDAY, Feb. 28 (HealthDay News) -- A new, noninvasive test that measures

> how fast pulse waves travel down the heart's aorta could be a screening tool

> for heart disease.

>

> According to Mayo Clinic researcher Dr. Iftikhar Kullo, the aortic pulse

> wave velocity (aPWV) test is painless, takes only 10 to 15 minutes, and

> would likely be less expensive than other cardiac screening tests.

>

> " About 40 percent of the American public is considered to be at moderate

> risk for heart disease. 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, " Kullo said in a prepared statement.

>

> In the procedure, doctors place a pencil-like device called a tonometer on

> the skin just over the patient's carotid artery in the neck and the femoral

> artery in the upper thigh.

>

> The tonometer measures the pressure wave inside the artery. That information

> is fed into a computer, which calculates aPWV.

>

> A slower pulse wave indicates that the artery is more elastic and healthier,

> while a faster pulse wave suggests the artery is stiffer and less healthy.

>

> The study of 401 people, aged 32 to 84, found that patients with stiffer

> arteries had a greater quantity of calcium in their coronary arteries, an

> indicator of plaque buildup in the arteries.

>

> Kullo said the association between artery stiffness and coronary artery

> calcium (CAC) strengthens the case for using aPWV as a heart disease

> screening tool in different groups of patients, including adults with

> moderate risk, people with a family history of heart disease, and people

> with high blood pressure or kidney disease.

>

> More information

>

> The American Heart Association outlines heart disease risk factors.

>