WIREDGOV

Researchers have proposed a new two-hour protocol to more quickly identify people with chest pain but at low risk of having a heart attack, so they can be discharged from hospital sooner.

The protocol includes carrying out an established probability score based on existing health conditions and family history, as well as an electrocardiograph (ECG) and a triple bedside blood test to check biomarkers within two hours.

The study suggests this new method would reduce the amount of time people at low heart attack risk spent waiting in hospital, reducing costs and freeing up space in the process.

Our senior cardiac nurse, Ellen Mason, said: “If you’ve ever waited in A&E for a few hours because blood tests were needed to confirm you were neither having a heart attack nor at high risk of one in the coming days, you may be heartened to know researchers are trying to find quicker ways to obtain these results.

People who have a sudden onset of chest pain should always call 999

“People who have a sudden onset of chest pain should always call 999 because it could be a heart attack. But if it turns out to be nothing serious, blood tests show no damage has occurred to your heart, and you have a very low cardiac risk, then an early discharge from hospital is a priority for both your comfort and the freeing up of beds.

“While this research showed largely successful identification of people at low risk of a heart attack in the coming month, there were a very small number for whom the test did not prove sensitive enough and went on to have heart attacks. Though this number was small, patient safety must be the priority, so more research is needed before a switch to a two-hour process can be justified.”

Current protocol requires patients to wait up to six hours before they can be deemed at low risk and discharged.

The study is published online in The Lancet today.