I found this very interesting article in the copy of Mail on Sunday.
"When the heart muscles begin to strain, larger amounts of the protein – brain natriuretic peptide (BNP) – are released by the heart and it is detectable in the bloodstream."
New £15 blood test flags up heart disease at an earlier stage than ever before... and it's 98% accurate
•Test examines blood for protein that helps regulate blood pressure and fluid around heart
•Results available within three days - so patients no longer face agonising wait to be referred to specialist clinic for scans.
•Of 7m Britons with cardiovascular disease, more than half a million will suffer heart failure
•George Michael was reported to have been suffering from a form of heart failure when he died suddenly in 2016
The trouble with newspapers' articles and, dare I say this particular one (!), is that they have to serve the information up in bite sized lumps (if not macerated as if for a baby) and perusal of this link patient.info/doctor/brain-n... shows that the figure of 98% is selective of one particular set of circumstances and, moreover, the "test" needs to be viewed not as in independent isolated Yes/No but as part of an overall set of tests to indicate a large number of possible conditions of illness.
I understand it but this is not new!, some information goes back to 2009. my next visit to my GP I am going to ask for this test. I did an electro cardiogram and echo cardiogram few years ago, I am not on any medication. One of my GP did comment that I have to take medication to lower cholesterol and blood sugar. Only time will tell.
If my GP will not do the BNP test I may ask my GP for a referral to do it private. Over the years I have had other private tests, one of it is (Bluecrest Health Screening), just to get some understanding.