The Extent of Coronary Atherosclerosis Is Associated With Increasing Circulating Levels of High Sensitive Cardiac Troponin T

Objective— This 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 Results— Cardiac 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 ( 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, ...