New US tests 'show heart disease risk'

The test can show if a middle-aged person is at risk of dying young, despite appearing healthy.

It is a more sensitive version of one already used to confirm if someone is suffering a heart attack. The test looks for low levels of a protein in the blood called cardiac troponin T (cTnT).

US researchers who used it to screen 3,500 individuals obtained a positive reading from a quarter of the blood samples.

People with detectable levels of cTnT were almost seven times more likely to die from heart disease within six years than those whose test results were negative.

Study leader James de Lemos, from the University of Texas, said: "This test is among the most powerful predictors of death in the general population we've seen so far.

"It appears that the higher your troponin T, the more likely you are to have problems with your heart, and the worse you're going to do, regardless of your other risk factors."

The standard test is only able to identify signs of heart disease in a very small percentage of the population, making it unsuitable for use as a screening tool.