Washington: Heart failure and stroke are responsible for the maximum number of deaths the world-over. The medical community has been fighting for years to find the cause of these unpredictable and unexpected killers and only now do they claim to have achieved some success.

A laboratory test that could identify biological markers that could indicate the onset of either attack, and yet allow emergency medical intervention that would save a life or full mental capacity may be only a few short years away.

The tests have been developed by Robert H Christenson, PhD, Professor of Pathology, University of Maryland Medical School, Baltimore.

There is presently no diagnostic test to predict the onset of a stroke or heart failure. But Dr Christenson and others believe that a blood test could identify a panel of markers, stringing together a series of proteins that could lead to the development of strategies for preventing strokes and heart attacks, reports 'Newswise'.

This potentially invaluable diagnostic tool will have a profound impact on efforts to treat heart disease and cerebral circulation disorders.

ANI