It's not always easy to diagnose atherosclerosis of the blood vessels - the precursor to coronary artery thrombosis, carotid artery narrowing, stroke, and peripheral artery disease. A simple screening approach was described at the recent American Heart Association Meeting - measuring the cholesterol in the skin.

Over 550 healthy adults had ultrasound examination of their carotid arteries to measure the intima-media thickness, an indication of the degree of atherosclerosis.

The cholesterol skin test ( PreVu® made by PreMD Inc) was done and scored for all participants. It was found that a score of over 110 units doubled the risk for increased carotid intima-media thickness, and was associated with the presence of carotid atherosclerotic plaque.

The skin test is simple, quick, and painless. It is available in Europe and Canada , but it's not yet approved by the USA 's FDA. One day, there will be an over-the-counter form of the test, no doubt. It's a step forward for those of us trying to keep our blood cholesterol under control . . .