Two markers may predict heart risk
By Nathan Seppa
Two proteins that play a role in inflammation may serve as indicators of a person’s risk of heart disease and stroke. The immune system proteins, called interleukin-6 and tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha), help orchestrate the body’s response to injury.
Physician Matteo Cesari of the Wake Forest University School of Medicine in Winston-Salem, N.C., and his colleagues analyzed blood samples from 2,225 healthy people, all in their 70s. After an average follow-up period of 3.6 years, 188 of the participants had been newly diagnosed with heart disease, 92 had developed congestive heart failure, and 60 had had strokes.