Authors' objectives: Coronary artery disease (CAD), also known as atherosclerosis, is the most common cause of death among adults in the United States. Individuals with CAD have an accumulation of fat, cholesterol, and other substances (collectively referred to as plaque) in the coronary arteries. This accumulation leads to a narrowing of the arteries that can cause the heart to slow and potentially stop. There are many risk factors for CAD, including age, sex, smoking, diabetes, hypertension, high cholesterol, and a family history of the disease. The symptoms of obstructive CAD are highly variable, range in severity, and may include chest pain (angina), fatigue, shortness of breath, weakness, nausea, vomiting, indigestion, dizziness, palpitations, and pain or discomfort in the back, shoulders, arms, or jaw. At this time, invasive coronary angiography (ICA) is considered the reference standard for establishing a diagnosis of obstructive CAD, although patients may also be evaluated using a variety of noninvasive imaging techniques, electrocardiography, and exercise stress tests. Because of the challenges posed by patients presenting with symptoms of CAD, which can be highly variable, often vague, and sometimes atypical, recent studies have focused on developing a genomic test that may facilitate the diagnosis of obstructive CAD in a noninvasive manner. The recently developed Corus CAD test examines the expression of 23 genes in peripheral blood cells and uses this information to estimate the likelihood of obstructive CAD in nondiabetic individuals with clinical signs of this disease. A complex algorithm that includes gene expression data, patient sex, and patient age yields a gene expression score (GES) that ranges from 1 to 40, with a higher number reflecting a higher probability of obstructive CAD. It is suggested that a combination of Corus CAD and other noninvasive tests or evaluations may help physicians identify patients who are unlikely to have obstructive CAD, thus avoiding invasive diagnostic testing.

Project Status: Completed

Year Published: 2014

URL for published report: The report may be purchased from: http://www.hayesinc.com/hayes/crd/?crd=14363

English language abstract: An English language summary is available

Publication Type: Not Assigned

Country: United States

Organisation Name: HAYES, Inc.

Contact Address: 157 S. Broad Street, Suite 200, Lansdale, PA 19446, USA. Tel: 215 855 0615; Fax: 215 855 5218

Contact Name: saleinfo@hayesinc.com

Contact Email: saleinfo@hayesinc.com

Copyright: 2014 Winifred S. Hayes, Inc