A Dundee University study has saved as many as 120 lives over the next 10 years due to early identification of those at high risk of heart disease or stroke.
More than 10% of healthy volunteers who took part in a major research project looking at preventing Scotland’s biggest killers heart disease and stroke had previously undetected or untreated health problems including high levels of blood pressure, cholesterol and blood sugar.
The TASCFORCE study measured many of the main cardiovascular health assessments including blood pressure, cholesterol, blood sugar, body mass index, smoking and family health history.
It looked at which screening techniques used in studying the healthy volunteers are more effective in identifying people at risk of heart disease so that it can be prevented or treated at an early stage.
Heart attack and stroke are among the most common causes of serious illness and death in Scotland, despite major advances in preventive medicine.
The study has reached its target of 5,000 volunteers recruited to the study, and over 1,500 have been offered an MRI scan.
“This is the first time that anyone in Tayside and Fife without a history of heart disease could have a thorough heart health check on request,” said Professor Jill Belch.
“So far, the early results indicate that just over 12% of the healthy volunteers had previously undetected or untreated health problems including high blood pressure, high cholesterol and high blood sugar.
“All of these participants received appropriate advice and have been referred to their GPs for further investigations and treatment.
“This is a large-scale epidemiological study and therefore its full impact will not be known for over 10 years.
“But the early signs show that the early detection of higher risk individuals may have saved up to 120 lives over the next 10 years.
“We are encouraged at this stage that these additional tests could hopefully be helping improve health across Scotland and far beyond for many years to come.”