Blood test enables heart attack risk to be predicted up to 10 years in advance

The troponin test which is already used in Accident & Emergency units to detect heart attacks, can also predict the risk in patients ‘months to years in advance’, and has now been given a CE mark.

Similar tests have been shown to be 100 per cent accurate in scientific trials.

The troponin test has been added to Nice’s accelerated access programme, which means it is likely to be used at more NHS A&E departments in the near future and ultimately offered during routine mid-life health checks.

The test measures for proteins present in the blood (troponins) which are released by damaged heart cells.

Lead researcher Professor Nick Mills of the University of Edinburgh, said “The technology to measure troponin in the bloodstream has got so good that it is no longer just useful for measuring in people with large amounts of injury to the heart.

“It can still do that, and very well, but now it can measure troponin in everybody it is telling us about more than whether you have had a heart attack or not.

“It is telling us about your heart health more generally.”

The British Heart Foundation’s Sir Nilesh Samani, praised Nice’s move to fast-track the test, adding that the charity hoped doctors would “be able to use this simple test earlier on to identify people at higher risk of suffering from a heart attack.”

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Posted by Tony May, Partner/head of Clinical Negligence Department, Chadwick Lawrence LLP (tonymay@chadlaw.co.uk ), medical negligence lawyers and clinical negligence solicitors in Huddersfield, Leeds, Wakefield and Halifax, West Yorkshire.

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