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A simple scoring system could revolutionize how doctors prevent heart attacks and strokes by identifying patients most likely to benefit from preventive medications, according to a new study published in Circulation Research.
The breakthrough test, called the TRIPLE Score, measures specific proteins on blood platelets along with the patient’s age to help doctors make more informed decisions about prescribing blood-thinning medications such as aspirin and clopidogrel.
A New Approach to Preventive Treatment
Currently, blood-thinning drugs are only given to patients who have already had a heart attack or stroke because these medications can cause serious bleeding in some individuals. Without a reliable way to predict who might benefit versus who might be harmed, doctors have been unable to prescribe these potentially life-saving drugs preventively to at-risk patients.
The test, which is not yet widely available, is being developed for use at the point-of-care and will soon be implemented in patient studies to verify its effectiveness in improving medical treatment.
Expert Insights
Dr. Alexander Bye, lead author of the research at the University of Reading, highlighted the importance of the test, stating, “Around 100,000 heart attacks occur each year in the UK, despite significant progress in preventing them. We must think of smarter ways to use drugs like aspirin if we are going to bring this number down. Our new test will help doctors make sure that patients receive the best treatment and maintain their quality of life.”
Dr. Bye and his team aim to further refine the test by developing a finger-prick version, making it as easy as measuring blood glucose.
Potential to Save Lives and Reduce Costs
The study found that the TRIPLE Score successfully identified patients whose blood was more likely to form clots in laboratory tests. The results also aligned with existing risk scores used by doctors to predict a patient’s likelihood of having a heart attack in the next decade.
The test requires only a small blood sample and has the potential to become a straightforward tool that any healthcare provider can use, not just specialists.
Professor Neil Ruparelia, a cardiologist at Royal Berkshire Hospital who was involved in the study, emphasized the potential impact: “This test could transform heart attack prevention in the NHS. Right now, we’re caught in a difficult position—we have medications that can prevent heart attacks, but we can’t safely give them to everyone who might benefit because of bleeding risks.
“With this new test, we can finally identify which patients would benefit most from preventive treatment. For cardiology departments across the country, this means we could protect thousands of at-risk patients while potentially saving the NHS millions in emergency care costs.”
A Step Toward Personalized Treatment
The breakthrough follows the formation of a new University of Reading spin-out company, HaemAnalytica, which was established to enable broader access to new platelet function tests and to personalize approaches to prevent and treat thrombosis.
More information: Alexander P. Bye et al., TRIPLE Score: GPVI and CD36 Expression Predict a Prothrombotic Platelet Function Phenotype, Circulation Research (2025). DOI: 10.1161/CIRCRESAHA.124.325701
Journal information: Circulation Research
Disclaimer: The TRIPLE Score test is still in the research phase and is not yet widely available for clinical use. Patients should consult their healthcare provider before making any decisions regarding preventive treatments for heart attack and stroke. Further studies are needed to validate the effectiveness of the test in clinical settings.
