In a study funded by the British Heart Foundation (BHF), researchers from the University of Oxford and the University of Glasgow found that a new blood test could be used to identify individuals who are at the at the highest risk of dying from heart failure.
Published in the European Journal of Heart Failure, researchers measured levels of a hormone used to diagnose heart failure with data from over 800 patients at different stages of the condition.
Estimated to affect over one million people in the UK, heart failure is a life-limiting condition that occurs when the heart is unable to pump blood around the body as well as it should.
After measuring the levels of the hormone B-Type Natriuretic Peptide (BNP) from patient data, as well as taking blood pressure and echocardiograms, a type of ultrasound heart scan, regularly, researchers found that a third of patients had high levels of neuropeptide Y (NPY) and had a 50% higher risk of dying from heart failure compared to those with lower levels.
Released by the nerves in the heart when under extreme stress, NPY can trigger dangerous heart rhythms and cause restrictions in the smallest blood vessels in the heart muscle, forcing the heart to work harder and blood vessels to contract.
Researchers suggest that diagnosis for heart failure patients could be improved by measuring NPY alongside BNP to pinpoint those who are at higher risk of dying.
In addition, this approach could help healthcare professionals when determining the best course of treatment and help them identify which patients could benefit from having an implantable cardioverter defibrillator fitted.
With the hope of having a blood test available in clinics for NPY within five years, researchers plan to carry out larger trials using data from patients with high levels of NPY and to explore whether it can be used as a protein for drug targets to benefit heart patients.
Professor Bryan Williams, chief scientific and medical officer, BHF, said: “This new research suggests that a new, cheap and simple blood test could help us in [the] future to more accurately spot which patients with heart failure are at highest risk of early death.”