A HIGHLY sensitive new blood test could quickly rule out a heart attack in patients arriving at hospitals with chest pains, a study has shown.

Researchers claim the test could save the NHS a significant amount of money by ruling out an attack early in two thirds of people attending Accident and Emergency wards with chest pains.

The study, funded by the British Heart Foundation, was led by the University of Edinburgh and involved more than 6000 patients at four Scottish and US hospitals.

It estimates that routine use by the NHS could double the number of people with chest pain who could be directly discharged, rather than facing multiple tests and an overnight stay in hospital.

Dr Atul Anand, a BHF Research Fellow who co-authored the research, said: "It can be a devastating blow to learn you've had a heart attack. We'd much rather be able to rule this diagnosis out early and prevent unnecessary stress and an overnight stay in hospital.

“This research has highlighted a quick way to rule out a heart attack in A&E. With further results from this clinical trial we hope to have enough evidence to change clinical guidelines to ensure more accurate diagnosis of heart attacks."

There are around 188,000 heart attacks in the UK each year, with 26,000 in Scotland alone.

However around a million visits to UK Accident and Emergency departments can be attributed each to chest pain, which can have a number of different causes.

The researchers looked at a blood test measuring troponin, a protein released from the heart during a heart attack, and managed to discover the optimal level of troponin in the blood for most safely ruling out a heart attack.

The study, published in The Lancet, showed that if a person has a troponin concentration of less than 5 nanograms per litre, they are at very low risk of having had a heart attack or having one in the next 30 days.

Professor Jeremy Pearson, Associate Medical Director at the British Heart Foundation, said: "A faster, more accurate diagnosis of whether chest pain is caused by a heart attack would be better for patients and save the NHS money.

"We want to ensure no heart attack diagnosis is missed but we equally don’t want to see people go through unnecessary tests and spend extended periods in hospital unless it is essential. No-one wants to be in hospital unless they have to be.

"What’s important about this study is that the evidence shows you can quickly and confidently rule out a heart attack without compromising patient safety."

The charity's director, James Cant, added that the study is a "fantastic example" of how Scottish heart researchers are driving improvements in patient care.

He said: "We look forward to further results from this BHF-funded study, especially if they contribute to changes in medical guidelines that might ease some of the strain on busy Scottish A&E departments.

"Thanks to the generous support of people in Scotland the BHF is able to fund world-leading teams like this one at the University of Edinburgh. Our supporters should be very proud of what they’re helping to achieve."

Earlier this year, the BHF-funded team showed that the same Abbott ARCHITECTSTAT High Sensitive Troponin-I (hsTnl) test could also double diagnosis rates of heart attacks in women.

They found that using different criteria for a positive test in men and women improved diagnosis rates so one in five women were diagnosed compared with the standard test where just one in ten women were diagnosed.