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New research, part-funded by the British Heart Foundation, has found that using a more sensitive test to measure a protein that leaks out of damaged heart cells into the blood stream could help in the diagnosis of heart attacks.

The test could also help identify heart attack patients who are at a high risk of dying from a second attack, conclude researchers in Scotland.

Scientists used a new test to detect very low levels of the protein troponin which is released into the blood when heart muscle cells are damaged. Doctors measure it to find out if a patient with chest pains has suffered a heart attack.

Our medical director Professor Peter Weissberg said: "This promising study shows us that by using a more sensitive test for heart muscle damage than is currently being used, more patients who come to hospital with chest pain are identified as having suffered a small heart attack.

“Over recent years it has become clear that people who suffer heart pain but only a small amount of heart damage are at a very high risk of going on to have a larger, potentially fatal heart attack if left untreated. This test will help doctors identify this vulnerable group of patients.

“If further studies corroborate these findings there will be considerable pressure on the NHS to adopt the new test as the standard for patients with chest pain.”

The research was led by our Chair of Cardiology Professor David Newby at the University of Edinburgh.  The university is one of four BHF Centres of Research Excellence.

The findings were published in the Journal of the American Medical Association.