Shiel Medical Laboratory's Oxidized LDL Triple Marker Test Uncovers Symptoms of Latent Heart Disease Better than Standard Lipid Test

NEW YORK, Feb. 12, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- The primary clinical laboratory test used by physicians to identify patients with coronary artery disease (CAD) fails to measure oxidized low-density lipoprotein (LDL), the plaque-specific protein directly involved in the disease process. A key study demonstrated that nearly half the patients with documented coronary events had LDL cholesterol readings within healthy range, exposing a major weakness in the standard lipid panel and the need for measuring oxidized LDL levels.

Shiel Medical Laboratory's Oxidized LDL Triple Marker Test is the only blood test that measures oxidized LDL, which reflects atherosclerotic disease activity in the arterial wall. As an identifier of clinical and subclinical CAD, the test is superior to any other laboratory test available to assess patient risk of cardiovascular disease, which kills 400,000 Americans annually and costs $110 billion in medical services and lost productivity.

"Research studies show measuring LDL cholesterol alone is insufficient to determine whether a patient is at risk for heart attack or stroke," said Shiel Medical Laboratory Technical Services Director, Harold M. Bates, Ph.D., who was involved in the commercial development of the oxidized LDL test. "Oxidized LDL as a biomarker test could easily become the successor to the regular LDL test because of its greater clinical efficacy."

Shiel's Oxidized LDL Triple Marker Test overcomes the weaknesses of conventional lipid tests by measuring oxidized LDL, a plaque-specific protein. Oxidized LDL is the atherogenic form of LDL cholesterol linked to the deposition of plaque in the artery walls. The CAD disease process depends on the oxidation of LDL, making oxidized LDL the primary culprit molecule in cardiovascular disease.

In addition to oxidized LDL, the Oxidized LDL Triple Marker Test measures two additional biomarkers linked to CAD: HDL cholesterol, an anti-atherogenic substance that inhibits the disease-causing action of oxidized LDL; and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP), an independent biomarker that at certain lower levels is associated with cardiovascular disease.

Like oxidized LDL, hs-CRP is not included in the standard lipid panel even though elevated oxidized LDL and chronically elevated hs-CRP may explain why half of all patients hospitalized with CAD have lipid readings that appear normal.¹

In published medical studies assessing known and emerging lipid biomarkers, oxidized LDL measurements rendered the most accurate snapshot of CAD risk. A 2006 study of 921 subjects, including 490 CAD patients and 431 healthy individuals in the control group, compared the relative potency of oxidized LDL to LDL cholesterol in identifying patients with CAD.² Oxidized LDL showed a six-fold ability over LDL cholesterol in indicating disease. Measuring the oxidized LDL/HDL ratio and adding hs-CRP levels to round out the Triple Marker profile produced a 16-fold ability over LDL cholesterol in identifying CAD disease.

"Every physician needs to know that standard lipid panels do not measure elevated oxidized LDL even in patients with low to moderate LDL. I'm certain more patients would request the Oxidized LDL test if they knew how much more effective it is in detecting CAD than the standard LDL test," said Charles Mitgang, M.D., an internist in Rockville Centre, N.Y. "The test has become part of my routine in identifying, treating and monitoring patients who are at risk for CAD."

Shiel Medical Laboratory is the first and only laboratory to develop the automated Oxidized LDL Test and establish reference ranges allowing physicians to better interpret results. Shiel introduced the test in 2006, following lab validation and approval by the New York State Department of Health. The laboratory exhibits annually at Scientific Sessions for the American Heart Association and the American College of Cardiology and researchers and clinicians have embraced this lipid biomarker test as a much-needed addition to the cardiac disease prevention arsenal.

For more information about the Oxidized LDL Triple Marker Test and Shiel Medical Laboratory, please visit: www.shiel.com.

About Shiel Medical Laboratory

Founded in 1919, Shiel Medical Laboratory is one of the nation's fastest-growing full-service clinical laboratories and the largest privately held laboratory in New York.  Operating from its main facility in the historic Brooklyn Navy Yard, the 60,000-square-foot laboratory employs almost 700 people dedicated to providing clients with the highest level of efficiency and accuracy in clinical, anatomic pathology and molecular testing services.

References

1. Amit Sachdeva, M.D., et al. Lipid levels in patients hospitalized with coronary artery disease: An analysis of 136,905 hospitalizations in Get With The Guidelines. American Heart Journal. 2009: 157 (1): 111-117. 

2. Nina Johnston, M.D., et al. Improved Identification of Patients With Coronary Artery Disease by the Use of New Lipid and Lipoprotein Biomarkers. American Journal of Cardiology. 2006: 97(5): 640-645.

SOURCE Shiel Medical Laboratory