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New heart-risk technology developed

Date published: 19/01/2006

A breakthrough in heart risk detection computer technology has allowed scientists in the US to better identify heart disease. Researchers claim a potential "time bomb" of "plaque" build up in the heart is present in many patients, yet goes undetected.

A group of physicians, including Professor Ioannis Kakadiaris from the University of Houston and Dr Morteza Naghavi from the Association for Eradication of Heart Attack (AEHA), have now developed computer technology to alert doctors to heart attack risk. The method developed by the group uses the tendency for vasa vasorum to proliferate around areas of inflammation in the blood vessels to its advantage.

By using intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) and nano-sized contrast agents, the team has developed software to give cross-sectional images of patients' arteries ? highlighting areas of high inflammation. The teams hope this early prediction of "inflamed plaque" in the heart will allow the number of fatalities from unpredicted heart attacks to fall.

Dr Naghavi said: "Recent discoveries and major advances in diagnostic and therapeutic areas have set the stage for translating new science, such as Kakadiaris' work, into a new practice of preventive cardiology. "While further studies are warranted, we are making steady progress toward eradicating heart attack."

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