A recent study led by the Universities of Edinburgh and Glasgow shows that a simple blood test can be good at ruling out heart attacks in people who go to emergency rooms with chest pain, but also future heart attack risks. The study has been published in the journal of the American College of Cardiology.

"Researchers found that changes in the levels of troponin in a patient's blood sample accurately predicted the risk of that person suffering a heart attack or dying of coronary heart disease," according to MedicalXexpress. For the study, more than 3,000 men with high cholesterol but no history of heart disease were involved.

The blood test detects a molecule called troponin, which is released if heart muscle is damaged. The test also allows physicians to predict whether the patients are risk of a heart attack risk within 15 years. "Troponin testing will help doctors to identify apparently healthy individuals who have silent heart disease so we can target preventative treatments more effectively," says Professor Nicholas Mills, British Heart Foundation Senior Clinical Research Fellow at the University of Edinburgh.

Professor David Newby, one of the study authors said, "Troponin is almost like a barometer of heart health. If it creeps up, that's bad and your risk of heart problems increases. If it goes down, that's good.