Blood Tests for Heart Diseases: Lipid Profile, Crp Test, its Price and More

Blood tests are one of the significant laboratory based investigations for diagnosing heart and heart related diseases. The blood is withdrawn for the laboratory investigations from the vein by an expert phlebotomist. The physician recommends blood tests for diagnosing any heart related condition. Such tests enable physicians to monitor the effects of medication for ongoing heart ailment treatment. Blood tests elucidate various parameters which signify the disease cause. A case of very high levels of cholesterol in the blood, may be an indication of increased risk of having heart ailments. Therefore, blood tests are necessary as it helps the physician understand the levels of various blood components and aid in understanding the risk of developing heart diseases.

Along with laboratory based interventions like blood tests, it is advised by the physician to undergo various diagnostic tests for accurate disease identification. Also, the most significant risk factors for heart disease such as smoking, sedentary lifestyle, high blood pressure and diabetes are considered during the diagnosis .

Now, let us take a look at the blood tests that are used by physicians to diagnose and manage heart and heart related conditions.

Cholesterol Levels in the Blood

It is estimated that the level of cholesterol in the blood has a significant role in heart and heart related diseases. A high level of cholesterol in the blood, which is also known as hyperlipidemia, is a major factor that increases the risk of developing atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease. Therefore, the blood cholesterol levels help in diagnosing the disease, and later managing it. Normally, a lipid profile or lipid panel test is conducted to understand the cholesterol levels, which consist of the following factors:

• Total cholesterol
• Triglycerides
• High-density lipoprotein
• Low-density lipoprotein 

C-reactive protein

C-reactive protein, which is also commonly known as CRP is a protein molecule that increases when there is inflammation. It is well known that CRP levels increase in no time after tissue or cellular injury. Therefore, elevated CRP levels are an indication that the body's immune response is active. Most of the heart and heart related diseases are also known to initiate inflammatory processes. So, a CRP level has been extensively researched in case of heart diseases such as arteriosclerosis and other heart related disorders. Numerous studies suggest that minor CRP increase is related with future major heart and heart related diseases (hsCRP:<1 mg/L=low risk; 1-3 mg/L=intermediate risk; 3-10 mg/L=high risk; >10 mg/L=nonspecific elevation).

Lipoprotein (a)

Lipoprotein (a), which is also known as Lp (a), is one of the low-density lipoproteins (LDL) that is a well-known and genetically associated risk factor for heart and heart related diseases such as atherosclerosis, coronary disease, thrombosis, and stroke.

It is recommended that patients having a history of premature cardiovascular disease, and those on statin therapy must routinely undergo Lp (a) testing. Also, those  having a family history of premature heart and heart related ailments are suggested  Lp(a) screening by the physicians. The European Society of Cardiology has suggested physicians to conduct  Lp(a) at least once in a patient's lifetime.The guidelines and recommendations for Lp(a) in the paediatric population are not available and still under research.

In order to test the Lp(a) in the blood, a small venous blood sample is sufficient. It must be noted that alcohol consumption, certain niacin based supplements, drugs like aspirin, and oral oestrogen containing pills are known to interfere with the test result.

The desirable level  of  Lp (a) is <14mg/dl as tested in the blood sample. The risk range is >50 mg/dl, whereas the patients with an Lp(a)  level of 14-30mg/dl are at the borderline risky group, the range of 31-50md/dl are known to be high risk levels.

Plasma Ceramides

Ceramides are one of the bioactive lipids that aid in numerous cellular processes such as apoptosis and inflammation. Medical research has helped in unravelling a relation between ceramides and heart and heart related diseases. Also, numerous studies have established a connection between the onset of diabetes and ceramide lipids.

The blood levels of ceramide as an indication is used by the physicians to identify risk in patients with known condition of heart and heart related diseases and is used to screen patients at high risk requiring immediate action for heart ailments. The ceramide levels in the blood which also means the CERT scores are used for follow-up and to understand the adherence of patients to medication, diet and exercise.

Natriuretic Peptides

The laboratory assay based tests are significant in detecting the B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP) or N-terminal pro-brain BNP (NT-proBNP) as they indicate the prognosis of heart failure. BNP levels are important prognostic predictors for the heart related emergency situations such as failure. Therefore, the levels of BNP or NT-proBNP aid physicians during clinical assessments for deciding treatment. 

The high negative values of BNP tests is significant as it helps the physician for ruling out heart failure. It should be noted that medications such as angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors, angiotensin-II receptor blockers, spironolactone, and diuretics are known to reduce BNP levels. Also, it is observed that the patients with treated chronic stable heart failure have BNP levels within the normal range (BNP less than 100 pg per mL and N-terminal proBNP less than 125 pg per mL). Therefore, it is suggested that increases in BNP levels are associated with the intrinsic cardiac dysfunction, pulmonary distress or renal diseases. BNP level has proved to be a strong predictor of risk of death and heart failure in patients with history of heart or heart related diseases.

Troponin T

Troponins are one of the major biomarkers for the diagnosis of heart related emergencies. Interval troponin measurements are one such investigation test that is practised in emergency medicine to diagnose myocardial ischemia treatment. Troponins are biomarkers as they are cardiac regulatory proteins which are present in the cytoplasm of cardiac myocytes.  So when the heart muscles suffer damage, troponin is released into the bloodstream. This is an indication that the heart is damaged and the person is under heart attack or has very recently suffered an attack.

Price of Blood Tests for Heart Diseases in India

The blood biomarkers test for heart and heart related diseases range from 100-2500 in India. The price varies as per the number of biomarkers to be tested. 

Conclusion

There are a number of biomarkers in the blood that are evaluated for heart and heart related diseases. These biomarkers not only reveal the underlying disease but are also significant in emergencies set up to differentiate between heart, pulmonary and renal causes. Even though blood tests and its accuracy in diagnosing the ailments is increasing, diagnostic interventions are coupled with the laboratory investigations to undermine the accurate diagnosis.