Heart attack test may save thousands

Thousands of people at high risk of a heart attack could be saved by an improved blood test.

Researchers Edinburgh University found that patients admitted to hospital with chest pains had a 50 per cent lower chance of dying of a heart attack within a year if the new test was used.

The improved test, tried out on more than 2000 patients at the ERI, was able to diagnose a third more as having had a heart attack than the standard test.

Professor Peter Weissberg, medical director at the British Heart Foundation, said: "This shows us that by using a more sensitive test, more patients who come to hospital with chest pains are identified as having suffered a small heart attack.

"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."