Durham, NC -- (ReleaseWire) -- 02/13/2008 -- Heart disease is the leading cause of death in the United States, but now a powerful one-page report developed by BioSignia can help monitor your risks of developing specific chronic preventable cardiovascular diseases, such as heart disease and stroke.

Developed by a leading biotechnology company, Know Your Number® is a breakthrough disease-specific risk assessment (DRA) tool that is different from standard health risk assessment (HRA) tools. Know Your Number takes a multi-dimensional approach to determining your risk of specific diseases rather than calculating your overall health quotation, resulting in more actionable knowledge for individuals and their doctors.

“Just like a credit report helps you make more informed financial decisions, Know Your Number helps you make better decisions about your health,” says Dr. Tim Smith, president and COO of BioSignia, a predictive modeling company which received the Disease Management Association of America’s prestigious award for Best Enabling Tool for Disease Management in 2004. “Americans aren't following the time-tested saying that prevention is the best medicine and more individualized, risk factor-specific information is needed to spur them to action.”

In 30 minutes or less, the Know Your Number assessment takes information about you, such as your weight, blood pressure, family history, lifestyle habits and key blood values. Then, it uses a proprietary technology called Synthesis Analysis™ to produce a detailed report on your risks of developing specific diseases. It’s unlike any other HRA tool because it uses a multi-dimensional approach by isolating individual and aggregate data on absolute risk: what your specific risk is of developing a particular chronic disease; relative risk: how you compare to your peers; and modifiable risk: where your risk is coming from and the things relating to your lifestyle and habits that you can modify.

Know Your Number is 35% more accurate for chronic disease risk prediction than conventional HRA tools and represents a 20% greater accuracy in diabetes sensitivity than the Rotterdam Prediction Model.

Its approach is different from other HRA tools in three main ways:

1. It focuses on the main disease killers.
While other assessment tools just look at overall health, Know Your Number predicts an individual’s actual risk of developing the main chronic preventable disease killers in the U.S.: heart disease, diabetes, and stroke. Traditional HRA tools are mortality-based and non-disease specific, which makes them less useful in identifying disease risk and predicting overall medical costs.

2. It shows what your specific risks are and how to reduce those risks.
This tool reveals the likelihood of developing a certain disease within the next five years, what fraction of that disease risk is modifiable, and lets you know what factors (e.g. lack of exercise, smoking) are contributing to the risks of developing specific chronic conditions. Know Your Number used a proprietary technology, Synthesis Analysis™, to deliver a multi-dimensional health risk assessment calculation that looks at all the risk, not just the overall risk. By singling out avoidable, modifiable, and non-avoidable risk, Know Your Number provides the steps individuals can take to significantly reduce their risks.

3. It provides you and your doctor an easy to understand road map to better health.
Know Your Number is a clinically-based tool that patients and physicians can use to communicate with each other. Many patients leave their doctor’s office with a bill and a prescription, but without a true understanding of their health situation. Know Your Number is used by patients and physicians to get on the same page as well as track a patient’s progress.

Everybody wants to reduce their risk--we wear our seatbelt to make sure we’re protected in a car accident and install smoke alarms to keep our family safe. Though, individuals cannot take the necessary health preventive measures without knowing their specific risks.

“The disease risk profile itself was the most comprehensive and visible tool that our physicians have ever seen,” says Tina Wise, RN, Vice President of Medical Management for Doctor’s Direct, which uses Know Your Number exclusively for their wellness program. “It provided the greatest amount of information that was valuable to the patient and the physician.”

Do you know your number? To learn more, visit: http://www.knowyournumber.com

About BioSignia
Headquartered in Research Triangle Park, N.C., BioSignia is a leading technology company focused on bringing innovative predictive modeling solutions to the preventive health and life insurance markets. At the core of BioSignia’s flagship solution, Know Your Number is the company’s proprietary synthesis modeling approach to chronic disease risk prediction. In 2004, BioSignia received the Disease Management Association of America’s prestigious award for Best Enabling Tool for Disease Management. Since then, the company’s talented R&D team has continued to advance synthesis modeling, continuously updating it to reflect the ever expanding need for effective chronic disease prevention, management and treatment. For more information, visit http://www.knowyournumber.com