Blood test to help predict risk of heart disease

Scientists have developed a new way to calculate a person’s risk for heart disease over a 10-year period by analyzing their blood, a method with greater precision than the identification of traditional risk factors alone. When someone visits their general practitioner, they can get their blood analysed for cholesterol and triglycerides to get an idea about the risk of cardio-vascular disease. With additional information about BMI, smoking habits and blood pressure, this can be used to calculate their risk over a 10-year period, according to researchers from Norwegian University of Science and Technology.