Etiology of troponin I elevation in patients with congestive heart failure and low clinical suspicion of myocardial infarction

Background: Increased troponin I (TnI) has been detected in congestive heart failure (CHF) patients. We demonstrate that occurrence of LVH, and systolic and diastolic blood pressure values (SBP and DBP, respectively) correlate with increasing levels of serum Trd in a selected CHF population. Methods: Our team reviewed the medical records of 40 consecutive patients admitted with CHF symptoms, low clinical suspicion of myocardial infarction (MI), and serum Trd measured upon admission. Twenty numerical and categorical parameters were screened. Patients were divided in to seven non-exclusive groups by increasing cutoff values of serum TO (0, 0.1, 0.2, 0.3, 0.4, 0.6, and 1.5 no/ml). In each group the average value of numerical parameters and the occurrence of categorical ones were calculated. The correlation between these values and the seven TnI cutoffs were analyzed. Results: Occurrence of electrocardiographic left ventricular hypertrophy (ECG-LVH), and average values of SBP and DBP significantly correlated with the Trill cutoffs by means of multiple regression analysis (P = 0.001. 0.02 and 0.007, respectively). Conclusion: ECG-LVH and values of SBP and DBP significantly correlate with increasing cutoff levels of serum Trd in hospitalized patients with CHF and low clinical suspicion of MI. (C) 2004 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.