Simple Blood Test Found to Predict Heart Attack Risk
Ronald Grisanti D.C., D.A.B.C.O., M.S.
A study published in the Archives of Internal Medicine suggests that an elevated White Blood Cell count in the elderly may be another important marker for heart disease. The study found that post-menopausal women who started with the highest number of white blood cells were…
46% MORE LIKELY TO HAVE A STROKE OR HEART ATTACKJoAnn E. Manson, who is also chief of the division of preventive medicine at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, sums up their findings. "WBC count appears to be a very promising way to identify people at increased risk of heart disease. Elizabeth F. Brigham Professor of Women's Health at Harvard Medical School stated that the present study is the largest to test this relationship and provides the strongest evidence to date that WBC (white blood cell) count predicts the risk of heart attack." How the Study Was Conducted and The Results
Investigators at medical centers all over the United States collected information on 72,242 postmenopausal women 50 to 79 years old. All were free of heart and blood vessel disease at the start of the study. During six years of follow-up, 1,626 heart disease deaths, heart attacks, and strokes occurred. Women with more than 6.7 billion white cells per liter of blood had more than double the risk of fatal heart disease than women with 4.7 billion cells per liter or lower. A count of 6.7 is considered to be in the upper range of normal. This finding appears to be a stand-alone and is independent of other risk factors such as smoking, diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, obesity, and lack of physical activity. Therefore, WBC count may identify people with a high probability of heart disease who show none of the more obvious risk factors. High WBC levels signal the presence of inflammation in blood vessels, which doctors believe is involved in hardening and clogging arteries. The Women's Health Initiative study included measurements of CRP, and it turned out to be almost as good a predictor of heart disease. "Used together, the two can provide additive and powerful information about risk," Manson comments. Women who showed high levels of both inflammation markers had... SEVEN TIMES THE RISK OF HEART DISEASE AS THOSE WITH LOW LEVELS
Dr. Grisanti's Comments
Once again we see the relationship between inflammation and heart disease. I believe that the future of heart disease management will consist of finding ways to decrease the overall inflammatory process occurring in the arterial walls. One action step you can take and I strongly recommend is to begin taking anti-oxidants. I personally recommend Di-Phasic AM and PM. The Most Powerful Supplements To Reverse Heart Disease
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References
Karen L. Margolis; JoAnn E. Manson; Philip Greenland; Rebecca J. Rodabough; Paul F. Bray; Monika Safford; Richard H. Grimm Jr; Barbara V. Howard; Annlouise R. Assaf; Ross Prentice; for the Women’s Health Initiative Research Group
Leukocyte Count as a Predictor of Cardiovascular Events and Mortality in Postmenopausal Women: The Women’s Health Initiative Observational Study
Archives of Internal Medicine, Mar 2005; 165: 500 - 508.
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