Headlines

As reported by The Hartford Courant, January 4, 2011.

UConn Researchers Discover Indicator of Heart Attack Risk

Protein Fragment Found in Blood of Sufferers of Heart Attacks

By William Weir

UConn cardiologists have identified a protein fragment that could be used to predict patients' susceptibility to heart attacks.

A research team at UConn discovered that elevated levels of Caspase-3 p17 – a protein fragment - in the blood in sufferers of heart attacks.

Dr. Bruce Liang, director of the Pat and Jim Calhoun Cardiology Center at the UConn Health Center, called the discovery a "new biomarker for heart attack." He said it could lead to the development of blood test that would detect the presence of the protein fragment and to therapies that prevent the conditions that lead to heart attack.

The study was published today in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.