High-sensitivity cardiac troponin I for cardiovascular risk stratification in apparently healthy individuals
Dimitrios Farmakis, Dimitrios Richter, Genovefa Chronopoulou, George Goumas, Dimitrios Kountouras, Anna Mastorakou, Georgios Papingiotis, George Hahalis, Konstantinos Tsioufis
Abstract
Troponin I and T as cardiac-specific biomarkers are highly useful tools not only in the diagnosis of acute coronary syndromes but also as independent predictors of several other clinical conditions. High-sensitivity cardiac troponin (hs-cTn) assays allow the detection of considerably low concentrations of cardiac troponin in apparently healthy and asymptomatic individuals, being a candidate tool for cardiovascular risk stratification in the general population. A group of Greek experts summarized the bulk of evidence regarding the use of hs-cTnI as a predictor of cardiovascular events and mortality in apparently healthy individuals and its additive value on top of existing risk stratification methods. This document could serve as a guide for the incorporation of hs-cTnI as an additional risk stratification tool in cardiovascular prevention strategies in apparently healthy individuals.