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Keeping us updated with brilliant new medical developments, this one will prove a massive help to patients and the NHS in general.
It is a simple blood test which will rule out heart attacks in those people admitted to Accident and Emergency units with severe chest pain (Currently 1,000,000 a year...which has tripled over the past 10 years)
The test assesses the level of troponin protein in the blood. If this is low, there is no heart attack present.
In real terms this means over 400,000 people would not require hospitalisation and could be discharged safely from our A/E depts
There would be no need for further tests such as repeated cardiac enzyme blood levels, cardiac monitoring, scans and stress testing.
The savings to the NHS would be massive. More importantly, the wellbeing of patients would be vastly improved
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Hi Jane. Costochondritis (inflammation of the cartilage which joins the ribs to the sternum or breast bone) gives pain very similar to that of a heart attack. Not surprised you were frightened....
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I had the same problem...ambulance called to the health centre, 3 days in hospital and all manner of tests. Turned out to be a simply Angina and something I now have sprays and tablets for. I dread to think of the actual costs and resources used.
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At the moment the plan would be to do it in the Emergency room (Accident in Emergency Dept)...then patients could be discharged from there instead of being admitted to Coronary Care unit. I was running ahead of myself when I suggested that eventually paramedics could take the blood test when they attended as a fast response
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Heya 
I wondered... Because it's the way our hospitals work already a long time.
For example my grandfather, he had a pulmonary oedema back in march (no chest pain, sinus rhythm, <90% SpO2, a light "bubbly" breathing-sound). So he were brought to our hospital (no coronary unit).
Just because the Troponin-test was positive, he got moved to another hospital were he went straight into the intracardiac catheter unit and got 2 stents. Classic non-stemi cardiac infarction.
In a UK-hospital - how would they have been dealed with that situation (no "classic" infarction symptoms)?
Are all hospitals managed by NHS? Or some from cities, private, church?
By the way, some counties introduced a Troponin fast-test on Ambulances (some months ago), so the paramedics can check it on the go. But it's hardly ever used, because of the tests made in hospital, no matter what the fast-test shows.
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I honestly can't speak about hospitals outside of the UK. I know this research was done at the University of Edinburgh and the results published in the Lancet on the 7th October...(Link to the article is in my first post)
In the past cardiac enzyme tests have always included the troponin levels as part of the whole blood test regime
This research was looking at it from a slightly different perspective, It has been discovered that if the cardiac troponin is below a certain level < 5 nanograms per litre....then this is proof that no myocardial infarction has taken place and the cause of any chest pain will have nothing to do with heart malfunctions.
Subsequently patients would have no need for any further tests related to this condition and could in fact be discharged from the Accident and Emergency Unit....
All of which will benefit the patient and be extremely cost effective....
