A COMMON test for the diagnosis and treatment of angina is flawed in at least a quarter of cases when used on its own, a leading heart specialist from Southampton has claimed.

The condition, which is characterised by a painful tightening of the chest when a build-up of fatty substances blocks or interrupts the blood supply to the heart, is diagnosed using coronary angiography. These are X-rays taken via tubes which are put in the wrist or groin to inject dye into the coronary arteries to highlight narrowings.

But Professor Nick Curzen, a consultant cardiologist at Southampton General Hospital, said angiograms would be more accurate if combined with a pressure wire to assess the severity of blockages at the diagnostic stage after 200 angina patients were examined in a study in 10 locations across the UK.

In the study he found more than a quarter (26 per cent) of stable heart disease patients would have had the wrong treatment plan based on angiogram alone.

Coronary artery disease is the most common cause of angina and heart attacks and responsible for 82,000 deaths in the UK every year.