Abstract
Cardiac troponin has been well described as the preferred biomarker for diagnosis of myocardial infarction due to the high sensitivity and specificity for myocardial injury. Numerous other conditions apart from acute coronary syndrome can also lead to small elevations in troponin levels. However, the use of cTn as prognostic biomarker for the primary assessment of cardiovascular risk in asymptomatic patient has only recently been described. And with the development of newer generations of high-sensitivity cardiac troponin assays that can detect 10-fold lower concentrations of troponin, the potential value cTn in the prevention and management of asymptomatic cardiovascular disease has come to the fore. This review provides an overview of the transition of cardiac troponin as a marker of acute myocardial injury to one that detects sub-clinical injury. Evidence continues to show that high-sensitivity troponin is emerging as one of the most powerful prognostic biomarkers for the assessment of cardiovascular risk in the general population.
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Acknowledgments
Vijay Nambi declares support from a VA MERIT grant, 1I01CX001112-01; to being a co-investigator on a provisional patent filed by Roche “Biomarkers to Improve Prediction of Heart Failure Risk” (Patent No. 61721475); receiving personal fees for being a national monitor for a study sponsored by Anthera; and to having served in the regional advisory board for Sanofi-Regeneron. Dr. Nambi is employed at the Michael E. Debakey VA Medical Center.
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Jason Hoff declares no conflicts of interest.
William Wehner declares being employed at the Michael E. Debakey VA Medical Center. He declares no other conflicts of interest.
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Hoff, J., Wehner, W. & Nambi, V. Troponin in Cardiovascular Disease Prevention: Updates and Future Direction. Curr Atheroscler Rep 18, 12 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11883-016-0566-5
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11883-016-0566-5