- Posted November 3, 2025
Three-Pronged Blood Test Highlights Heart Attack Risk
A new three-pronged blood test can highlight people with a nearly tripled risk for heart attack, a new study says.
The test relies on three blood markers linked to heart disease: lipoprotein a [Lp(a)], remnant cholesterol and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein [hsCRP], researchers are slated to report at a Nov. 10 meeting of the American Heart Association in New Orleans.
“Each of the blood tests on its own indicate only a modest increase in heart attack risk; however, when we found elevated levels for all three, the risk of heart attack was nearly three times higher,” said lead researcher Dr. Richard Kazibwe, an assistant professor of internal medicine at Wake Forest University School of Medicine in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.
“These biomarkers work together like pieces of a puzzle,” he said in a news release. “One piece cannot show the full picture, yet when combined, we can see a much clearer and more complete depiction of heart attack risks.”
Lipoprotein (a) is a type of cholesterol driven by genetic factors that can cause clogged arteries, researchers said.
Remnant cholesterol is a harmful fat particle in the blood that may be missed by standard cholesterol tests, but also contributes to clogged arteries.
The marker hsCRP measures inflammation in the body, with high levels signaling the body is under stress that could do damage to a person’s arteries.
For the study, researchers analyzed data on more than 300,000 participants in UK Biobank, a long-term health research project in the United Kingdom. All of the people were free of heart disease when they were first enrolled.
Researchers tracked their heart attack rates for a median 15 years of follow-up — meaning half were followed longer, half for a shorter time. These were compared to blood tests evaluating the three heart risk markers.
Results showed that:
Participants with all three test results in the highest ranges had nearly triple the risk for a heart attack.
Those with two high results had more than double the risk.
A single elevated result carried a 45% increased risk.
“A clear pattern confirmed that these biomarkers are related and together they reveal a three-fold increase in heart attack risk,” Kazibwe said.
“Even if traditional risk factors like cholesterol and blood pressure are under control, these simple blood tests can identify hidden inflammation, genetic risk and cholesterol abnormalities,” he added. “The results could help health care professionals detect heart disease risk earlier and guide steps to keep your heart healthy before symptoms appear or a cardiac event occurs.”
These blood tests are not part of routine screening guidelines, but Kazibwe said they are available at most labs upon request.
“The findings indicate that these biomarkers can aid in clinical decision making, particularly for those patients in whom treatment decisions are uncertain,” AHA spokeswoman Dr. Pamela Morris said in a news release. Morris, who was not involved in the study, is director of the Seinsheimer Cardiovascular Health Program at the Medical University of South Carolina.
Kazibwe acknowledged that some doctors might be cautious about adding more tests, due to their cost and whether a person’s insurance will cover them.
However, he said mounting evidence has shown such tests are increasingly relevant to preventive heart care.
“The three biomarker tests represent part of a larger toolkit for assessing heart attack risks that also include(s) genetic risk scores and coronary artery calcium scans,” Kazibwe said. “The future challenge will be learning how to combine all this information to help health care professionals make personalized decisions for each patient.”
Findings presented at medical meetings should be considered preliminary until published in a peer-reviewed journal.
More information
The American Heart Association has more on heart health screenings.
SOURCE: American Heart Association, news release, Nov. 3, 2025
