A blood test trialled in A&E departments across Scotland achieved an "impressive" reduction in the risk of deaths and heart attacks among patients with a heart muscle injury.

The first-of-its-kind study, funded by the British Heart Foundation and published today in the BMJ medical journal, assessed an updated version of a test designed to detect levels of troponin - a protein released into the bloodstream during a heart attack or when the heart is injured due to other conditions.

Different troponin blood tests have been used for years by doctors to aid diagnosis in patients presenting with chest pains and related symptoms.

However, the new test can measure very low levels of troponin much more accurately than older versions of the diagnostic tool.

Researchers from Edinburgh University evaluated how much of an improvement it achieved for patients by studying the results of nearly 50,000 people who arrived at 10 emergency departments across Scotland with a suspected heart attack between 2013 and 2016.

Outcomes were followed up over five years.

Over 10,000 patients had high troponin levels indicating heart injury. The high sensitivity of the new test meant that around one in five of these patients would have been missed using the older test.

While the new test led to improvements for heart attack patients, those who benefited most were patients with a heart muscle injury caused by other heart conditions, such as heart failure, heart valve conditions and heart arrhythmias.

The researchers found that these patients were 10% less likely to die or be admitted to hospital with heart attacks over the subsequent five years compared to patients diagnosed using the older, less sensitive test.

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By identifying heart injury in patients who may otherwise have gone unnoticed and untreated, the researchers hope that more people could receive the specialist heart care they need to avoid more serious events in the future.

Dr Ken Lee, a clinical lecturer in cardiology Edinburgh University and the lead author of the study, said: “In the past, clinicians could have been falsely reassured by the results of the less sensitive troponin test, discharging patients that appeared to not have heart disease.

“This new high sensitivity test is the tool they needed, prompting them to look deeper and helping them to identify and treat both heart attacks and less obvious heart problems.

"In our trial, introducing this test led to an impressive reduction in the number of future heart attacks and deaths seen in this at-risk group.”

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The British Heart Foundation said the benefits are now likely to be seen across the UK with the test having been rolled out UK-wide beyond the 10 Scottish emergency departments originally involved in the trial.  

It said the UK is now ahead of the curve when it comes to heart attack and heart injury detection.

Professor Sir Nilesh Samani, medical director at the charity, said: “Medical professionals in emergency departments need the most efficient and accurate tools to look after people.

"This particularly applies to those who arrive with a suspected heart attack. Such a time-sensitive and life-threatening condition requires the very best diagnostic tests.

“It is very encouraging to see that the new test trialled here is better at predicting long-term outcomes for these patients, whether they had a heart attack or a different kind of heart injury.

"This can lead to improved care for such patients.”