In patients presenting to the emergency department with acute chest pain, the observation of ischemic changes in the electrocardiogram or troponin elevation prompts hospitalisation and, generally, invasive management. However, decision on admission or discharge is uncertain in the remaining patients. The spectrum of these patients spans from individuals without coronary artery disease to some with high risk unstable angina. An early exercise test is usually performed with the aim of guiding the decision. However, the exercise test is not available 24 hours per day/ 7 days per week, around 40% of the patients show contraindication to exercise and there are inconclusive as well as false-positive results. The limitations of the exercise test can lead to unnecessary hospitalisations. Therefore, there is room for alternative tools. Our objective was to compare a new strategy combining clinical history and NT-proBNP levels versus the usual care, consisting of early exercise testing, for decision making in these patients.