A simple blood test may help identify patients most at risk of dying from heart failure, research suggests.

People with the highest levels of certain proteins were 50 percent more likely to die from heart complications during the three-year study period than those with lower levels.

Experts said the findings suggest that measuring neuropeptide Y (NPY) levels may help predict the progression of heart failure.

This will be used to identify people most at risk and tailor treatments to slow the progression of the deadly disease, which occurs when the heart can’t pump enough blood around the body. It may be possible.

It is estimated that more than one million people in the UK currently live with heart failure, and around 200,000 new cases are diagnosed each year.

A simple blood test may help identify patients most at risk of dying from heart failure, research suggests (stock image)

Experts said the findings suggest that measuring neuropeptide Y (NPY) levels may help predict the progression of heart failure (stock image)

Researchers at the University of Oxford used study data from more than 800 adults in various stages of heart failure. The results were published in the European Journal of Heart Failure.

The subjects had their levels of natriuretic peptide (BNP), a hormone currently used alongside NPY in diagnosing heart failure.

In response to extreme stress, nerves in the heart release NPY, which can cause dangerous heart rhythms.

This can cause the smallest blood vessels in the heart muscle to close, making the heart work harder and constricting the blood vessels going to the heart.

The scientists found that about a third of the group had high NPY levels and were 50 percent more likely to die from heart complications during the three-year follow-up period.

They suggest that measuring NPY in parallel with BNP may aid in the diagnosis of those most at immediate risk.

This will allow doctors to decide who would benefit from treatments such as implantable cardioverter defibrillators (ICDs), which detect and stop irregular heartbeats called arrhythmias.

Neil Herring, professor of cardiovascular medicine at the University of Oxford, said: “These findings are an exciting new development.”

Next, they plan to investigate whether measuring very high levels of neuropeptide Y influences whether patients receive life-saving treatments like ICDs. ” He added that blood tests could be introduced within five years.

The British Heart Foundation said: ‘This new study shows that a new, cheap and simple blood test could help us in the future to more accurately identify which heart failure patients are most at risk of premature death. It suggests that.”