Rapid blood test may predict heart disease

Scientists from Imperial College London and Cambridge University have developed a rapid, less invasive and low-cost blood test which may help predict the likelihood of a heart attack.

The test - which only needs a few drops of blood - measures the magnetic properties of molecules in blood (using high frequency radio waves) that are analysed using an advanced computer program capable of detecting abnormal patterns of signals associated with heart disease.

The research shows how a new science, developed in the Imperial College laboratories and called metabonomics, can be used to test for coronary artery disease, using minimally invasive procedures.

Today, the most effective method of testing for coronary heart disease is through the use of angiography. While very effective at showing how much of the blood flow to the heart is obstructed, angiography is both costly and highly invasive to the patient. And, in a small number of cases, it can have serious adverse effects including stroke and kidney damage.

Metabonomics offers a distinct advantage over other tests because it can be carried out on standard preparations of serum, plasma and urine, needing no specialist preparations. It is a holistic approach for examining the dynamic metabolic changes in whole organisms and can be used to provide information on drug toxicity and efficacy, clinical diagnostics and gene function. The technology was originally developed in order to test the toxic effects of drugs but has many clinical applications as well.