Research
Highlights from major heart conference
Scientists unveiled the very latest in cardiovascular disease research at the American Heart Association's Scientific Sessions 2025 last weekend. Some of the brightest minds from the US, UK and around the world came together to share the latest breakthroughs that could help to save and improve more lives. Here are four things we learned.
‘Normal but high’ blood pressure in your thirties could increase heart attack risk
People in their thirties may have a higher risk of a heart attack in later life, even if they don't meet the threshold for a diagnosis of high blood pressure.
Those with higher or steeply rising blood pressure in early adulthood were found to have reduced blood flow to their hearts in later life, in a study funded by us and led by Dr Gaby Captur at University College London.
This reduced blood flow was linked to a greater chance of having a heart attack and stroke in future.
Professor Bryan Williams, our Chief Scientific & Medical Officer, said: “This interesting research suggests that we should be encouraging people to get regular blood pressure checks from a younger age, when it is often much easier to control.”
Half of all people with chest pain given heart all-clear may be misdiagnosed using a standard scan
Half of people investigated for chest pain, and given the all-clear following an angiogram, may in fact have heart-related chest pain.
Angina – the medical term for chest pain – is commonly due to blocked coronary arteries.
But when researchers looked at 250 people with chest pain whose angiogram results did not show blocked arteries, MRI scans showed 51 per cent of these in fact had ‘microvascular angina’ - chest pain caused by issues with tiny blood vessels supplying the heart muscle.
Researchers, led by Professor Colin Berry at the University of Glasgow and funded by us, say their study suggests scans looking for insufficient blood supply to the heart should be used to follow up every patient with unexplained chest pain after an angiogram.
Dr Sonya Babu-Narayan, clinical director at the British Heart Foundation and consultant cardiologist, said: “Coronary microvascular dysfunction, which is seen more commonly in women, is real. It can have a serious impact on people’s everyday lives, as they struggle with chest pain and breathlessness, and is often misunderstood.”
"The diagnosis of inadequate blood supply in tiny coronary blood vessels can easily slip through the net. This important study shows that it doesn’t have to be this way.”
Rapid heart attack tests speed people through emergency departments
People can find out if they are having a heart attack far faster using next-generation bedside tests which provide a blood test result within 15 minutes.
The tests measure troponin - the telltale protein released into the blood when the heart is damaged, which indicates whether someone has had a heart attack.
People who have not had a heart attack can be quickly reassured, and those who have had a heart attack can receive earlier treatment.
The tests allowed people to move through emergency departments 47 minutes faster, according to a study supported by Professor Nicholas Mills, BHF Professor of Cardiology at the University of Edinburgh, and led by Christchurch Hospital in New Zealand.
Dr Sonya Babu-Narayan, our clinical director and consultant cardiologist, said: Laboratory results can take hours to come back, so it’s exciting to see that the bedside troponin test used in this study had a faster turnaround – providing results within minutes, and without compromising accuracy and safety.”
New drug offers unprecedented round-the-clock control for high blood pressure
A new treatment for high blood pressure can provide continuous, round-the-clock blood pressure control for people whose condition is hard to treat.
A study involving 218 people with high blood pressure which their current medications had not controlled, found the drug baxdrostat substantially reduced blood pressure over 24 hours. Risk of heart attack and stroke is highest through the night and in the early morning, so 24-hour blood pressure control is important.
The treatment, baxdrostat, works by reducing levels of aldosterone, a hormone that can drive high blood pressure in some people.
The study was led by Professor Bryan Williams, who - speaking in his role as a UCL professor and separately from that as our chief scientific and medical officer - said: “The Bax24 trial results are quite remarkable both in terms of the magnitude of blood pressure reduction and the fact that it was sustained across the entire 24-hour period."
