Enzyme 'may predict heart disease risk'

Enzyme activity may be a predictor of heart disease

Scientists may have pinpointed an enzyme which could help determine a patient's risk of heart disease.

The enzyme is important because it breaks down fatty substances in lipoproteins, which carry cholesterol around the body.

Too much cholesterol in the blood can increase the risk of developing heart disease.

A study by researchers from the University of Heidelberg in Germany, led by Dr Klaus Dugi suggests the more active the enzyme was, the less likely patients were to have coronary artery disease.

In the long term this enzyme could be used in treatments to help combat coronary heart disease

Belinda Linden, British Heart Foundation

Dr Dugi and his team said measuring enzyme activity might help doctors assess who is most at risk of coronary artery disease, and perhaps lead to the development of drugs which would encourage the production of the enzyme.

The enzyme is called Hepatic lipase (HL).

The researchers measured how active HL was in 200 men who were receiving angiograms, tests which measure whether arteries are clogged.

The enzyme breaks down triglycerides, a fatty substance, and fats in lipoproteins.

The body has both high density lipoprotein (HDL), or "good" cholesterol, and low density lipoprotein (LDL) or "bad" cholesterol.

The "bad" LDL carries cholesterol from the liver to blood cells. HDL returns excess cholesterol to the liver, where it is disposed of.

More studies are now planned to see if low levels of Hepatic lipase activity is linked to higher risk of heart attack.

'Treatment hope'

Belinda Linden, head of medical information at the British Heart Foundation (BHF) welcomed the German research, but agreed more work was needed.

"It has long been recognised that LDL (bad) cholesterol contributes to CHD and there is some evidence to suggest that triglycerides also plays a role in its' development.

"This research indicates that Hepatic lipase may well help the body break down LDL cholesterol and triglycerides, reducing the risks of CHD and help us to understand who is more at risk of developing coronary heart disease (CHD).

"In the long term this enzyme could be used in treatments to help combat coronary heart disease.

"However, this is a small study using existing heart patients and, as the researchers themselves indicate, much more research is needed with people who may be at risk of developing the disease.".

The study is published in Circulation, the journal of the American Heart Association.