I believe this type of approach by medical professionals will empower patients to become true partners in clinical decision making

Professor Patrick Vallance, British Heart Foundation

It can gauge a person's chances of suffering a heart attack over the next five years.

The predictor is expected to help health professionals offer advice to young people who may show signs of suffering problems in later life.

Professor Patrick Vallance, based at the new �5.4m BHF centre, said: "An earlier version of the programme which assesses patients' 10-year risk of cardiovascular disease is currently being used by 5,000 GPs worldwide.

"I believe this type of approach by medical professionals will empower patients to become true partners in clinical decision making."

A dilemma facing medical professionals is what advice to offer younger people who are a substantially increased risk, compared with their age group, but who remain below the defined risk threshold for treatment.

Heart experts

The lifetime predictor offers the possibility of calculating an optimum age for drug treatment for each individual.

Such treatment could include the use of statins, a class of drug that lowers cholesterol and which recent medical research has shown could prevent a third of all heart attacks and strokes.

UK heart disease

Heart disease claims 170,000 lives annually There are 274,000 heart attacks each year 1.3 million people have suffered a heart attack Coronary heart disease costs the economy �10bn annually

The new BHF centre at University College, London, will bring together four of Britain�s leading heart researchers.

It aims to create greater integration between different areas of cardiovascular research expertise as well as turning scientific discoveries into life saving clinical practice.

BHF medical director Professor Sir Charles George said: "By harnessing this high level of expertise and experience under one roof, we are keeping Britain at the cutting edge of international heart research."

Heart disease remains the biggest cause of death in the UK, claiming more than 170,000 lives each year.

More than two thirds of these deaths are the result of heart attacks.