New heart attack test under trial

Current tests are often unable to rule out heart attack quickly and the patient has to be admitted to hospital before a diagnosis can be confirmed. The trial aims to find out whether using a point-of-care cardiac marker panel (a machine that can be used by a doctor or nurse at a patient's bedside) can more quickly and accurately confirm or rule out heart attacks to help address this problem.

Led by Professor Steve Goodacre of the University of Sheffield, researchers in the £716,000 study will evaluate the test in six NHS hospitals, to establish whether it improves diagnosis and reduces unnecessary hospital admissions.