YORK scientists have developed a new do-it-yourself test which predicts the risk of heart disease and strokes.

The test measures the presence of homocysteine (HCY), a sulphur-bearing amino acid chemical found in blood, that can damage the lining or thicken the walls of coronary arteries.

Testing for harmful levels of HCY is now made possible through a unique do-it-yourself kit developed by Yorktest Laboratories of York. It allows users to test for dangerous levels of HCY by pricking a finger, collecting a few drops of blood and returning it to the laboratory for analysis.

Yorktest say that scientists and doctors have known about the relationship between HCY and

cardiovascular disease for more than 30 years, but it is only recently, with improved technology and research, that its harmful effects have been fully recognised.

It claims that overly high levels of HCY can be reduced and controlled simply and inexpensively by correcting vitamin deficiencies in the body, in particular folic acid, vitamin B12 and vitamin B6.

International medical expert Dr James Braly MD said: "Heart disease and strokes are the biggest killers in the western world and this new HCY test is an excellent and very important risk assessment tool that will help many thousands of people. Properly understood, homocysteine will soon rival cholesterol testing as a measure of heart disease and stroke risk factors." Patrick Holford, founder of the Institute for Optimum Nutrition and author of more than 20 health- related books, supports the initiative.

He said: "We already know that smoking or eating fried food may lead to increasing arterial damage, but there is another, more insidious factor produced by the body that is more dangerous than having high cholesterol - it is called homocysteine."

Fiona Kirkwood, cardiac nurse at the British Heart Foundation, said: "Homocysteine is an amino acid normally found in the blood. There is increasing evidence that raised levels of homocysteine may be associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease. However, results of studies so far have been mixed and as yet there is no conclusive evidence that lowering homocysteine levels will result in lower coronary risk. Due to the lack of consistent data, homocysteine is not currently routinely screened for those at risk of Coronary Heart Disease."

A spokeswoman for the British Medical Association said. "Generally we think it is good that people are taking more responsibility for their health, but also think we must be careful.

"The main concerns are that the patient can use the kit properly, and then receives the proper support if there are any negative implications from the results."

For more information log on to the Yorktest website at:

www.yorktest.com

Updated: 14:21 Wednesday, October 02, 2002