Thousands of heart attacks and strokes could be prevented with the aid of a simple £5 blood test, according to research. Checking levels of troponin in patients could enable doctors to predict their risk of cardiovascular events with much greater accuracy, according to a study funded by the British Heart Foundation (BHF) and published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology. Troponin is found in heart muscle cells and seeps into the blood when hearts are damaged. Troponin blood tests are already used in hospitals to diagnose heart attacks after they have occurred. The inexpensive tests could also be used to detect “silent” harm to the heart, helping to predict a patient’s future risk of cardiovascular events. They could be done alongside routine cholesterol tests at GP surgeries, enabling preventive treatment, such as statins, with the potential to avoid thousands of heart attacks and strokes. Anoop Shah, the study’s lead author and a professor of cardiovascular medicine at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, said that troponin, even in the normal range, is a powerful indicator of silent heart muscle damage. Adding troponin tests into existing heart-risk estimation guidelines could help spot high-risk patients who would benefit from preventive treatment, which would reduce their risk of future circulatory issues. The study found people with higher levels of troponin in their blood were at a greater risk of having a heart attack or stroke within 10 years. For people currently found to be at an intermediate risk on existing cardiovascular health assessments, the tests would prevent one heart attack or stroke for every 500 people tested. Researchers analyzed the health data of more than 62,000 people across Europe and the US. By adding troponin results to existing risk factors, the algorithm’s predictions were up to four times more accurate than adding cholesterol results alone. Prof Bryan Williams, the chief scientific and medical officer at the BHF, said: “Developments in risk prediction have helped doctors build effective algorithms that can spot those most at risk of heart attacks and strokes. But, with around 100,000 hospital admissions for heart attacks alone in the UK each year, it’s clear that there is still plenty of room for improvement. This new data suggests adding this blood

Source: https://www.theguardian.com/science/2025/apr/07/simple-blood-test-help-prevent-thousands-heart-attacks-study