Simple blood test could rule out heart attacks

Researchers say test could 'dramatically' reduce unnecessary hospital admissions

Rose Troup Buchanan
Thursday 08 October 2015 08:11 BST
Comments
The test measures a protein called troponin in the patient's blood
The test measures a protein called troponin in the patient's blood (Rex Features)

Your support helps us to tell the story

This election is still a dead heat, according to most polls. In a fight with such wafer-thin margins, we need reporters on the ground talking to the people Trump and Harris are courting. Your support allows us to keep sending journalists to the story.

The Independent is trusted by 27 million Americans from across the entire political spectrum every month. Unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock you out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. But quality journalism must still be paid for.

Help us keep bring these critical stories to light. Your support makes all the difference.

A new blood test is set to revolutionise diagnosing heart attacks and could halve the number of patients admitted to the NHS.

Trials on the test, which takes only 30 minutes and looks for a chemical in the blood, found it was 99.6 per cent accurate, according to results published by the Lancet.

Roughly a million people go to A&E complaining of chest pains every year.

Current procedures require two tests: one when the individual is first admitted and another 12 hours later.

Present tests scan the blood for a chemical known as tropoin – released by damaged heart muscle – but the new test can determine much lower levels of the chemical in only 30 minutes.

Afterwards, instead of staying overnight as many patients currently do, people could be immediately discharged – helping patients’ mental wellbeing and saving money.

Scientists who developed the test at Edinburgh Royal Infirmary also claim the test costs less than £10, although many UK hospitals currently lack the facilities to implement it.

"It's really exciting. When you look at patients who come to medical wards with chest pain, 80 per cent are going home 12 hours later,” Dr Atul Anand, a researcher and a doctor at the Edinburgh hospital where the test has been trialled, told the BBC.

These findings could provide substantial cost savings for healthcare provider

&#13; <p>Dr Anoop Shah, University of Edinburgh</p>&#13;

The test has been trialled on 6,304 people, with the British Heart Foundation planning a wider trial of 26,000 people across the UK.

"A faster, more accurate diagnosis of whether chest pain is caused by a heart attack would be better for patients and save the NHS money,” commented professor Jeremy Pearson from the British Heart Foundation.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in