Blood tests could identify people with AFib at risk for 'breakthrough' stroke
劳拉·威廉姆森，美国心脏协会沙巴足球体育平台
Looking at specific substances in the blood of people with atrial fibrillation, 一种不规则的心跳, could help identify who's at risk for a stroke despite taking blood-thinning medication to prevent one, 新的研究表明.
的 researchers found biomarkers in the blood that reflect heart strain, inflammation and clotting raised stroke risk in people with AFib who are on blood thinners. 的 发现 were presented Thursday at the 美国心脏协会's Epidemiology, 预防, 生活方式和心脏代谢健康会议.
AFib is a common type of arrhythmia in which the heart's two upper chambers quiver instead of fully contracting, interfering with their ability to pump blood to the heart's lower chambers. Blood left behind may pool and clot, raising the risk for a stroke. 防止血栓, 患有心房纤颤的人通常会服用血液稀释剂, 包括抗凝血和抗血小板药物.
但这种治疗并不总是有效. Some people on blood thinners have what are called breakthrough strokes, 博士说. 撒母耳短, the study's lead researcher and an internal medicine resident at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill.
“我们想弄清楚, 在已经服用血液稀释剂的人群中, 血液测试可以用来预测谁可能会中风,肖特说. 如果是这样的话, it could help researchers pinpoint which people with AFib might benefit from additional treatment.
Short and his team used blood tests to measure levels of nine biomarkers previously shown to be associated with risk of strokes caused by clots, 即缺血性中风. Among 713 people with AFib who were taking blood-thinning medications, 9% (67 people) had their first ischemic stroke over 12 years of follow-up.
心脏紧张相关的四种生物标志物水平升高, inflammation and blood clotting were associated with higher stroke risk.
的 发现 are considered preliminary until full results are published in a peer-reviewed journal.
Because blood clots might form more easily in people with higher levels of these biomarkers, Short said that being able to identify people at highest risk for a breakthrough stroke "is the first step in understanding what else might need to be done for that patient."
的 next step is to look at how additional medications or procedures could help this group of people, 他说.
对于一些服用血液稀释剂的AFib患者, breakthrough strokes might happen because they aren't taking their medications as prescribed or the drugs are ineffective, 博士说. Uma Srivatsa, director of arrhythmia services at UC Davis Health in California.
Higher biomarkers "would help us to be more diligent in monitoring these patients and to identify alternative treatment options,斯里瓦察说, 谁没有参与这项新研究. "的re are a lot of unknowns out there, but anything that helps us identify who is at risk is useful."