February 11, 2003 MEDIA CONTACT: Karen Blum Exercise and Imaging
Tests Predict Heart Events In High-Risk Families Combining an
exercise stress test with an image of blood flow through the
heart may be an effective method to predict and prevent heart
attacks and other events among adult siblings of heart disease
patients, a Johns Hopkins study has found. The paired tests
identified hidden heart disease among one in five seemingly
healthy adults ages 30 to 59 who had a brother or sister with
heart disease, according to results published in the Feb. 11
issue of Circulation, an American Heart Association journal.
"Although we already know the risk of siblings developing
coronary artery disease is much higher than that of the general
population, current guidelines do not target such families for
aggressive preventive efforts," says lead author Roger S.
Blumenthal, M.D., Johns Hopkins' director of preventive
cardiology. "Aggressive testing clearly identifies individuals
with hidden heart disease." Researchers scree