Adopt heart attack blood test, urge researchers

A team from King's College London have tested a blood test that could rule out a heart attack in under 20 minutes.

The researchers argue that the cMyC (cardiac myosin-binding protein C) test could be rolled out on the NHS within five years and save the health service millions of pounds each year by freeing up beds and sending well patients home.

Currently, patients with a suspected heart attack have an ECG examination, and if unclear a heart-attack blood test, called troponin. However, smaller, sometimes life-threatening, heart attacks can go unnoticed.

Studies claim that levels of cMyC rise more rapidly and to a higher extent after a heart attack than troponin proteins, meaning that the cMyC test could rule out a heart attack in a higher proportion of patients straightaway.

The team from King's College London carried out troponin and cMyC blood tests on nearly 2,000 people admitted to hospitals with acute chest pain, with the latter test proving better at giving patients the all-clear within the first three hours of presenting with chest pain.

Dr Tom Kaier, one of the lead researchers, said: "Our research shows that the new test has the potential to reassure many thousands more patients with a single test, improving their experience and freeing up valuable hospital beds in A&E departments and wards across the country."