"We wanted to verify if the Framingham score truly captured who was most at risk, but it turns out to have underestimated a large number of those who should be considered for preventive therapies," says study author Dr. Roger Blumenthal, an associate professor and director of the cardiology center at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and its Heart Institute.

Based on findings, the team recommends cardiac CT scans for individuals with two or more risk factors, such as obesity, smoking or metabolic syndrome, plus a family history for heart disease.

"Our best means of preventing coronary heart disease is to identify those most likely to develop the condition, and intervene with lifestyle changes and drug treatment before symptoms start to appear," says Dr. Blumenthal. "The goal is to strongly consider therapies, such as aspirin, cholesterol-lowering medications and, possibly, blood pressure medications for individuals at higher risk, so that heart attacks will be less likely to occur in the future."

In one study, researchers calculated each woman's Framingham score and found that 98 percent were gauged to be at very low risk for future CHD. However, when the results were contrasted with CT-scan measurements of calcium build-up in the arteries, they found that one-third of women originally classified as very low risk actually had coronary atherosclerosis, a hardening and narrowing of the arteries that can lead to heart attacks if not controlled with drug therapy along with diet, exercise and other lifestyle changes.

In a related, second investigation comparing the FRE results to calcium scores, 84 percent (408 of 489) of the women classified as low risk by FRE actually had some coronary atherosclerosis. Twenty percent of those who were classified at intermediate risk by FRE had signs of advanced atherosclerosis.

Sniffing Out Cancer

Researchers in California report they have trained dogs to detect lung cancer in breath samples of cancer sufferers with near-perfect consistency. For breast cancer, the dogs—three Labradors and two Portuguese water dogs—accurately detected the disease in 88 percent of the samples.

The intriguing findings demonstrate detectable
differences in the breath of cancer patients, raising the intriguing possibility of developing non-
invasive breath tests to screen for cancer in the future. Tumors release small amounts of odorous chemicals not found in healthy tissue. Additional studies will analyze and identify the mix of chemicals that the dogs are able to smell.

Exercise Wards Off Dementia, Depression

During a Post interview, the wife of one of the country's leading experts on aging told us that she combats the blues by running, adding, "No depression can stand a 5K run!" Her husband, Dr. Walter Bortz, is also a runner, completing numerous marathons across the globe from Boston to Athens. Dr. Bortz, widely recognized expert on aging and author of Living Longer for Dummies, stresses that the keys to successful aging are physical and mental activity, coupled with a healthy dose of humor. "If you are lucky, you will grow old," says Dr. Bortz. "The alternative is no fun at all." A videotaped interview with Dr. and Mrs. Bortz is available.