New blood test could predict genetic heart condition which affects millions worldwide

The problem is that there is no cure for this genetic condition. According to The Guardian, doctors also do not know which patients with the genetic condition are most at risk from deadly complications.

But now a team of scientists from universities including Harvard and Oxford found a way to predict the risk for people living with HCM -- a blood test.

According to the report, this blood test could identify patients who are most at risk of complications. This would enable doctors to monitor them more closely and provide them with life-saving treatment.

NT-Pro-BNP is released by the heart as part of normal pumping. But high levels are a sign the heart is working too hard.

Those with the highest levels had poorer blood flow, more scar tissue and changes in their heart, which could lead to atrial fibrillation or heart failure.

A blood test measuring NT-Pro-BNP could transform the care of millions of people with the world’s most common inherited heart condition.

The test “could benefit patients around the world," Prof Bryan Williams, the chief scientific and medical officer of the British Heart Foundation, which funded the research, was quoted as saying by The Guardian.

“After a diagnosis of HCM, patients and their families want to know what the future holds. This study shows that measuring various proteins circulating in the blood could help predict how the heart is functioning and future risk of complications from heart disease," Williams said.

Meanwhile, Prof Carolyn Ho, the medical director of the cardiovascular genetics centre at Harvard medical school said the test could help “target the right therapies to the right patients at the right time”.

She said that continued studies on blood biomarkers will lead to better understanding of HCM so that, in future, "we can offer our patients a blood test to identify who is at high versus low risk of experiencing serious consequences of the disease."

“People with the highest risk could be targeted for potentially life-saving treatments as they stand to receive the greatest benefit, while those at lowest risk could avoid unnecessary treatment,” she said.