GOTHENBURG, Sweden, Jan. 26 (UPI) -- An ultrasound and a blood test can predict survival and future heart failure following a heart attack or unstable angina, a researcher in Sweden suggests.
Biomedical scientist Anita Persson of the University of Gothenburg in Sweden says her thesis showed that elevated levels of B-type natriuretic peptide in the blood were associated not only with an impaired ability of the heart to pump blood, but also with the risk of rehospitalization due to heart failure following acute coronary syndromes and premature death.
However, the correlation between high BNP and future risk was present also for those patients who did not show signs of heart failure during the first acute episode.
Persson also evaluated the use of ultrasound, or Doppler echocardiography, to assess leakage at one of the valves in the heart. An increased volume of the left ventricle and increased pressure during the filling phase of the heart action or increased stiffness of the ventricle were associated with a poorer prognosis and an increased risk of complications, Persson says.
The study involved those who received care from September 1995 to March 2001 in the Coronary Care Unit at Sahlgrenska University Hospital.
