Troponin I as a predictor of future coronary heart disease (CHD)

• cardiac troponin I (cTnI), a standard for detection of myocardial damage, has been reported to predict acute myocardial infarction or death in patients with unstable coronary heart disease (CHD)
• cardiac TnI concentrations increase with age in subjects free from clinical signs of CHD, suggesting silent myocardial damage
  • a community-based study was undertaken investing the relationship between cardiac TnI levels and CHD
    • was conducted from August 1991 to May 1995 among 1203 men in Uppsala, Sweden, aged 70 years at baseline with a follow-up of up to 10.4 years with the use of registry data (National Board of Health and Welfare, Sweden)
    • in men free from cardiovascular disease (CVD), cTnI predicted death (HR, 1.26; 95% CI, 1.08 to 1.46; P=0.003) or first CHD event (HR, 1.31; 95% CI, 1.11 to 1.54; P=0.001) after adjustment for conventional risk factors: total and HDL cholesterol, plasma glucose, body mass index, smoking, and systolic blood pressure
    • study authors concluded that cTnI was shown to predict death and first CHD event in men free from CVD at baseline, indicating the importance of silent cardiac damage in the development of CHD and mortality

Reference:

1. Zethulius B et al. Troponin I as a predictor of coronary heart disease and mortality in 70-year-old men: a community-based cohort study. Circulation 2006;113:1071-8