Forecasting heart risk in women.A new study suggests that a protein in the blood may predict a woman's future risk of suffering a heart attack. In 1997, Paul M. Ridker of the Harvard Medical School Harvard Medical School (HMS) is one of the graduate schools of Harvard University. It is a prestigious American medical school located in the Longwood Medical Area of the Mission Hill neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts. in Boston and his colleagues reported that C-reactive protein C-Reactive Protein Definition C-reactive protein (CRP) is a protein produced by the liver and found in the blood. Purpose C-reactive protein is not normally found in the blood of healthy people. foretells a healthy man's risk of suffering a heart attack (SN:6/14/97, p. 374). The same team wanted to find out if this !ink would hold true for healthy women. They measured the concentration of C-reactive protein in the bloodstream of 366 postmenopausal post·men·o·paus·al adj. Of or occurring in the time following menopause. postmenopausal Change of life Gynecology adjective Referring to the time in ♀ when menstrual periods stop for ≥ 1 yr women. In the Aug. 25 Circulation, they report that women with the highest concentrations of this protein in the blood had seven times the risk of suffering a heart attack or stroke during a year period as women with the lowest concentrations. Concentrations of C-reactive protein may indicate the amount of fatty plaque built up in a patient's arteries, according to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. the researchers. C-reactive protein is a marker for chronic inflammation chronic inflammation n. Inflammation that may have a rapid or slow onset but is characterized primarily by its persistence and lack of clear resolution; it occurs when the tissues are unable to overcome the effects of the injuring agent. , a healing response run wild. The findings underscore the idea that inflammation plays a role in the genesis of heart disease in both men and women. |
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