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Posted on Dec 07, 2003, 9 a.m.
By Bill Freeman
New research suggests that doctors could accurately predict their elderly male patients' risk of stroke and death simply by measuring levels of a protein known as lipoprotein-a, which carries cholesterol around the body. Dr Abraham A Ariyo from HeartMasters in Dallas, Texas, and colleagues measured the blood lipoprotein-a levels of 2375 women and 1597 men aged 65 or older, and followed them for seven years.
New research suggests that doctors could accurately predict their elderly male patients' risk of stroke and death simply by measuring levels of a protein known as lipoprotein-a, which carries cholesterol around the body. Dr Abraham A Ariyo from HeartMasters in Dallas, Texas, and colleagues measured the blood lipoprotein-a levels of 2375 women and 1597 men aged 65 or older, and followed them for seven years. Results showed that men with the highest levels of lipoprotein-a were three times more likely to experience a stroke during the study than men with the lowest levels. Furthermore, these men were 76% more likely to die than those with the lowest levels of the blood protein. No similar association was seen in women.
SOURCE/REFERENCE: N Engl J Med 2003;349:2108-2115.
