According to a major report, it is no longer necessary to go on a fast just before your cholesterol tested.

For decades patients were told to fast for 12-hours prior to a test, as the body required time to remove fatty particles from the blood. However, analysing the data of 300,000 people, Cambridge researchers found the results were just as accurate, despite the patient having eaten before being tested.

Published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, the study one hopes will result in new guidelines for doctors in the UK.

In order to assess a patient’s risk of cardiovascular problems, it is necessary for long been necessary to undergo cholesterol tests, considered a key part of the assessment. Those forgetting to fast before coming for the test were asked to make a fresh appointment, as it was believed for an accurate reading for low-density lipoprotein (LDL), it was necessary for the body to be given sufficient time for digesting food in the system and clearing all fatty particles from the blood.

However, data from 68 long-term surveys in 21-countries indicates fasting is not a requisite for having a cholesterol test. Some experts argue tests for blood proteins called apolipoproteins should replace traditional cholesterol tests for predicting heart risk. The other test involving triglyceride blood fats levels measurement has not been found to provide any valuable extra information about heart disease risk.

Currently, new guidelines are being drawn up for health professionals in the UK, where cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading form of death.