Boston Heart enables healthcare providers to better identify near-term risk of heart attack or stroke with launch of an important inflammation marker, myeloperoxidase (MPO)

Boston Heart Diagnostics Corporation, a pioneer in integrating next-generation diagnostics into personalized nutrition and lifestyle programs for patients with or at risk for heart disease, announced the commercial launch of an FDA-cleared MPO (myeloperoxidase) test, a key biomarker for inflammation. Studies show that MPO levels are useful predictors of near-term (one to six months) risk of heart attack or stroke.

Boston Heart is a leader in the science of chronic disease risk assessment and patient management. The launch of MPO is an important addition to the suite of next-generation diagnostics the company already offers. More than lab results, Boston Heart gives healthcare providers the tools they need to identify risk, individualize treatment plans, and engage patients in preventing and reversing cardiovascular disease.

According to Boston Heart President and CEO, Susan Hertzberg, "Heart disease is complex and requires more than a cholesterol result to identify people at risk or to individualize treatment. The addition of MPO to our test menu and the integration of MPO results into our individualized patient-friendly reports is yet another example of our commitment to provide the best science and full complement of next-generation diagnostics that address all the known factors that contribute to each person's individual risk for heart disease."

Boston Heart offers the MPO test as an individual assay, or as part of a panel of other critical inflammation markers including hs-CRP and LpPLA2. Unlike other MPO assays on the market, the Boston Heart MPO test does not require a separate sample tube, nor do office staff need to spend time aliquoting. Patients may benefit from having fewer tubes of blood drawn, and the risk of specimen rejection and redraw may be reduced, since aliquoting can be a cause of insufficient sample.

"Recent studies point to inflammation as a critical element, increasing a patient's risk of blockage of the blood vessels. If inflammation is not addressed, it could lead to a rupture of the blockage, causing a heart attack or stroke," said Boston Heart's Chief Medical Officer, Ernst J. Schaefer, M.D. "A high level of MPO in blood vessels increases risk in several ways. It modifies the primary protein in HDL - the 'good' cholesterol - so that it loses its protective properties. It also bruises and roughs up the wall of the blood vessel, making it more prone to rupture, and increasing the likelihood that any plaque will become unstable or break off to form dangerous clots.

"Fortunately, once a patient's MPO, cholesterol metabolism and other critical values are known, there are effective treatments that healthcare providers can prescribe to help avert an emergency-room visit with a catastrophic event," Dr. Schaefer added. "In the case of high MPO levels, therapies may include statins, beta-blockers, and angiotensin-converting-enzyme (ACE) inhibitors."