FDA Approves New Heart Disease Test For Black Women

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has recently approved a new heart disease test that's primarily for African-American women.

The test works by measuring any built-up inflammation found in the arteries, and shows certain elevated risks of heart attack or stroke despite cholesterol levels. This is done through the examination of the lipoprotein-associated phospholipase A2 (Lp-PLA2) in the blood that help determine if artery-narrowing plaques increase or irritate the lining of blood vessels.

"A cardiac test that helps better predict future coronary heart disease risk in women, and especially black women, may help health care professionals identify these patients before they experience a serious CHD event, like a heart attack," said FDA's Alberto Gutierrez, via NBC News.

He added that the test "may help health care professionals identify patients before they experience a serious CHD event, like a heart attack," via chinatopix.com.

Studies show that those with Lp-PLA2 levels that are above 225 had a coronary heart disease rare of 7 percent over the next five years when compared to 3 percent of those with lower levels. Furthermore, African-American women had a much higher heart disease risk if their readings were higher, as well.

Lastly, strokes and other related health issues can even occur in those with health cholesterol levels. Tracking and taking care of the problem early on isn't always so easy.

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