The number of heart operations increased

The troponin test should be available in all hospitals which see patients with chest pain.

The announcement comes as new figures show a third of all deaths in Scotland were caused by problems with the heart and circulation.

Scotland has the highest death rate from heart disease in the EU. Ministers have pledged to reduce the toll.

The figures revealed that in the three months to the end of September, almost 5,000 deaths were heart-related compared with just under 4,000 from cancer.

As part of the Scottish Executive strategy, the health service wants to improve its early diagnosis and treatment of heart trouble.

This new blood test fits into that plan with troponin testing helping to establish if someone with a pain in their chest has suffered damage to their heart.

It means that more patients with serious heart damage are identified earlier and will get the right treatment sooner Dr Harpreet Kohli

The test will show how much troponin is in the blood and provides a quick and accurate measure of heart muscle damage.

On its own it cannot make a diagnosis and doctors will also need to consider the results of an electrocardiogram (ECG) reading, physical symptoms and the patient's medical history.

The test is currently available in most Scottish hospitals, however, it is used in different ways.

It has now been recommended by NHS Quality Improvement Scotland (NHS QIS) that patients with a suspected acute coronary syndrome should be tested 12 hours after symptoms begin.

Clinical need

If the onset of symptoms is difficult to establish then the test should be taken 12 hours after admission to hospital, which ensures that troponin is measured within the period when it is at its highest.

NHS QIS interim director, health technology assessment, Dr Harpreet Kohli said: "Currently, access to troponin testing varies throughout Scotland.

"Implementing our advice is a first step to establishing consistent care across Scotland for patients who are admitted to hospital with chest pain.

"It means that more patients with serious heart damage are identified earlier and will get the right treatment sooner, while patients at low risk can be safely sent home earlier.

"These measures will also enable resources to be devoted to those in most clinical need."