ILoVeNY25
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I found this article on AOL health, just thought I'd share....
BOSTON, July 17 (Reuters) - A test that requires two drops of blood can quickly tell doctors if a person with breathing problems is suffering from heart failure, according to a study published in Thursday's New England Journal of Medicine.
The test, which costs about $25, can rule out heart failure in 98 percent of the cases where it does not exist and help doctors trying to treat the condition, Dr. Alan Maisel, chief author of the study, told Reuters.
When heart failure occurs, the heart cannot pump enough blood, causing fluid to accumulate in the lungs, liver, hands and feet. Nearly 5 million Americans are affected and about half the people who develop the condition are dead within five years.
Diagnosing heart failure through chest X-rays, CT scans and other means is expensive and takes time. The Maisel team used the 15-minute blood test on 1,586 volunteers in the United States, France and Norway, discovering that it correctly diagnosed heart failure in 83 percent of the cases -- an accuracy rate higher than any single test.
The test is already in use in about 10 percent of U.S. hospitals. Maisel said he expects the new findings to speed acceptance of the test, approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in 2000 and developed by Biosite Inc.
San Diego-based Biosite, a developer of diagnostic and drug-discovery tests, paid for the study.
Kenneth L. Baughman of Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore described the study as "important" in a separate analysis published in the journal.
"Cardiologists and internists may now have a tool with which to determine whether a patient has congestive heart failure and to measure its severity," Baughman wrote.
07/17/02 14:58 ET
Copyright 2002 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of Reuters content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Reuters. Reuters shall not be liable for any errors or delays in the content, or for any actions taken in reliance thereon. All active hyperlinks have been inserted by AOL.
BOSTON, July 17 (Reuters) - A test that requires two drops of blood can quickly tell doctors if a person with breathing problems is suffering from heart failure, according to a study published in Thursday's New England Journal of Medicine.
The test, which costs about $25, can rule out heart failure in 98 percent of the cases where it does not exist and help doctors trying to treat the condition, Dr. Alan Maisel, chief author of the study, told Reuters.
When heart failure occurs, the heart cannot pump enough blood, causing fluid to accumulate in the lungs, liver, hands and feet. Nearly 5 million Americans are affected and about half the people who develop the condition are dead within five years.
Diagnosing heart failure through chest X-rays, CT scans and other means is expensive and takes time. The Maisel team used the 15-minute blood test on 1,586 volunteers in the United States, France and Norway, discovering that it correctly diagnosed heart failure in 83 percent of the cases -- an accuracy rate higher than any single test.
The test is already in use in about 10 percent of U.S. hospitals. Maisel said he expects the new findings to speed acceptance of the test, approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in 2000 and developed by Biosite Inc.
San Diego-based Biosite, a developer of diagnostic and drug-discovery tests, paid for the study.
Kenneth L. Baughman of Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore described the study as "important" in a separate analysis published in the journal.
"Cardiologists and internists may now have a tool with which to determine whether a patient has congestive heart failure and to measure its severity," Baughman wrote.
07/17/02 14:58 ET
Copyright 2002 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of Reuters content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Reuters. Reuters shall not be liable for any errors or delays in the content, or for any actions taken in reliance thereon. All active hyperlinks have been inserted by AOL.
