Washington: A new US study yesterday asserted that doctors can hear the heart attack risks using stethoscope. The study published in the May 10 issue of The Lancet articulated that certain sound in the main artery supplying blood to the brain could indicate an increased risk of heart attack and death from heart disease and stroke.

According to the study, the sound - called a carotid bruit (pronounced brew-ee) - is caused by turbulent blood flow due to buildup of fatty deposits in one of the two arteries that carry blood to the front and middle part of the brain. It is usually regarded as a possible indicator of increased risk of stroke.

After analysis of 22 studies, the researchers at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C. concluded that people with carotid bruits are more than twice as likely to have heart attacks or to die of cardiovascular disease. Pickett and colleagues analyzed data from 17,295 patients in 22 studies from the U.S., Canada, the U.K., the Netherlands and Switzerland and did a follow-up for four years. They concluded that "the presence of a carotid bruit should heighten clinician concern for coronary heart disease.”

Christopher Pickett from the Walter Reed Army Medical Center, said, “Our study has shown that the presence of a carotid bruit significantly increased the likelihood of cardiovascular death or heart attack.''