New Omega-3 test better identifies heart disease risk
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Doctors could soon have access to a new, more accurate test, the 'Omega-3 Index', to identify patients at risk of heart disease.
US and German researchers have developed the test, which measures the level of Omega-3 fatty acids in a patient's blood.
The test will be unveiled in Sydney today.
The executive director of the Omega-3 Centre, Wendy Morgan, says the Index is an improvement on other blood pressure and cholesterol tests.
"The test can be done now, it's just quite a lengthy procedure to do the analysis so the rapid analysis technique is being worked on very hard so I would hope within a few months that would be available in Australia," she said.
She says the test is more accurate than existing cholesterol and blood pressure tests.
"It's very much diet-related, so if your level is low you're at a higher risk of a heart attack, if it's higher you're at a much reduced risk of a heart attack," she said.
"So if you know it's low, then you know you must do something about it."
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