Early Blood Test Detects Heart and Kidney Disease Before Symptoms Appear
<cite index="13-3,13-4">University of Bristol scientists discovered a novel method for identifying damage to the lining of microscopic blood vessels, transforming the ability to detect heart and kidney disease at their earliest stages, before they progress and become life threatening.</cite> <cite index="13-6">Damage to the lining of these microscopic blood vessels signals the earliest stages of heart and kidney disease, conditions that together account for one in three deaths worldwide.</cite>
Scientific Breakthrough
A new way to detect the onset of heart and kidney disease far earlier than previously possible has been discovered by University of Bristol scientists, with the breakthrough published in Nature Communications. Until now, monitoring the health of the vast network of tiny blood vessels that supply vital organs with oxygen and nutrients has remained largely inaccessible to medicine.
Clinical Impact
Professors at Bristol noted their findings provide a powerful tool for identifying potential health issues at a much earlier stage, and the novel method for assessing the health of microscopic blood vessels is key to identifying damage happening in the early stages of kidney and heart disease. More research is needed, but this new method may give a window of opportunity to detect disease and intervene early, and to save lives.