People who visit their GP with unexplained chest pain may be more likely to have a heart attack in the future, after researchers we funded developed the clearest picture yet of the factors that put them at higher risk. It may be possible to better prevent seizures.

It is estimated that at least one million adults in the UK visit their GP each year because of chest pain. Even with tests, the cause remains a mystery for many people and no diagnosis is available. Research shows that people who have this type of “unexplained” chest pain are at a higher risk of developing heart health problems in the future than those who don’t. Despite this, very few people receive preventive treatment.

Now, researchers at Kiel University have We have identified important risk factors that increase the likelihood that people with unexplained chest pain will develop heart and circulatory disease.. Their study is published in the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology.

The research team believes their findings can help doctors identify patients most at risk and recommend preventive treatments, such as statins, and lifestyle advice to thwart future health problems, such as heart attacks, before they occur. I look forward to being able to provide this.

Identify people at high risk

Researchers have developed a risk calculator that can identify people who are at high risk of developing heart and circulatory disease in the future and pinpoint the key factors that influence that risk.

These tools were developed and validated using anonymised information from the health records of more than 600,000 people with unexplained chest pain registered with UK GPs between 2002 and 2018. I did. All records used were linked to hospital and mortality data, allowing researchers to track which records were which. Patients were hospitalized or died from cardiovascular disease. Median follow-up was at least 5 years.

It found that people with diabetes, atrial fibrillation (a common type of arrhythmia) and being treated for high blood pressure were at the highest risk of developing heart and circulatory disease.

Important opportunities for prevention

Nearly half of those most at risk were smokers or living with obesity. Modeling shows that if all current smokers living with obesity were helped to lose weight and quit, the average 10-year risk for this group would drop from about 22% to about 16%. I did.

The study also suggests that current risk prediction tools should be used cautiously in this group, as GPs have been shown to underestimate risk. The research team compared this model with the existing QRISK3 risk calculator and found that one-third of his patients had a 10-year risk of less than 10% according to QRISK3, compared to 10% in the new model. We found that we had a risk of more than %. .

Although more work would be required before risk calculators could be used by physicians, the researchers say their findings represent an important opportunity to identify those at highest risk for future heart and circulatory disease. They say this could help both doctors and patients take early action to stop these diseases. In their footsteps.

“More important than ever”

Professor Brian Williams, Chief Scientific and Medical Officer, said: “The use of health data in research can help address some of the biggest challenges in medicine. This study explores factors that may put some people with mysterious chest pain at greater risk. The clearest picture yet of heart disease could help more people avoid heart disease in the future.

“With the NHS under extraordinary pressure, it is more important than ever that we respond to warning signs early to prevent avoidable heart attacks and keep people healthy.”

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