Spotting the warning signs of a future heart attack in people with undiagnosed chest pain

Cardiovascular prognosis in patients with undiagnosed chest pain: An electronic health record cohort study

Every year, up to two in every hundred adults in the UK visit their GP because of chest pain for the first time. GPs may refer people at risk of heart disease for further tests. For others, chest pain may be caused by a problem with the food pipe, a muscular issue, or stress. Most people with chest pain do not get a specific diagnosis, yet are more likely to go on to have a heart attack than those without chest pain. This research will help GPs identify people with chest pain who require further tests and preventative action. The team will use a large, anonymous database of records from GP consultations in the UK, linked to hospital information. The researchers will look for cases from 2002 onwards where people first come to their GP with undiagnosed chest pain. They will then track these individuals’ subsequent medical records for up to 10 years. They will identify the shared characteristics of people who had undiagnosed chest pain and went on to have a heart attack or stroke. This insight could then be used by GPs as warning signs in people with chest pain, and could trigger action such as preventative medication or lifestyle changes. This change in practice could prevent many people from suffering a heart attack every year.