• Eduard M Laufer, Alma M A Mingels, Mark H M Winkens, Ivo A P G Joosen, Mark W M Schellings, Tim Leiner, Joachim E Wildberger, Jagat Narula, Marja P Van Dieijen-Visser, and Leonard Hofstra.
• Department of Cardiology, Cardiovascular Research Institute Maastricht, Maastricht University Medical Center, Maastricht, the Netherlands.
• Arterioscler. Thromb. Vasc. Biol. 2010 Jun 1; 30 (6): 1269-75.

ObjectiveThis study explored the relationship between coronary atherosclerotic plaque burden and quantifiable circulating levels of troponin measured with a recently introduced high sensitive cardiac troponin T (hs-cTnT) assay.Methods And ResultsCardiac patients suspected of having coronary artery disease (CAD) but without acute coronary syndrome were studied. Cardiac troponin T levels were assessed using the fifth-generation hs-cTnT assay. All patients (n=615) underwent cardiac computed tomographic angiography (CCTA). On the basis of CCTA, patients were classified as having no CAD or mild (<50% lesion), moderate (50% to 70% lesion), severe (>70% lesion), or multivessel CAD (multiple >70% lesions). As a comparison, high-sensitivity C-reactive protein levels were measured. Progressively increasing hs-cTnT levels were found in patients with mild (median, 4.5 ng/L), moderate (median, 5.5 ng/L), severe (median, 5.7 ng/L), and multivessel (median, 8.6 ng/L) CAD compared with patients without CAD (median, 3.7 ng/L) (all P<0.01). For high-sensitivity C-reactive protein and N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide, no such relationship was observed. In patients without CAD, 11% showed hs-cTnT levels in the highest quartile, compared with 62% in the multivessel disease group (P<0.05). Multivariance analysis identified hs-cTnT as an independent risk factor for the presence of CAD.ConclusionsIn patients without acute coronary syndrome, even mild CAD is associated with quantifiable circulating levels of hs-cTnT.

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