Background:
Serial changes in high-sensitivity cardiac troponin-T (hs-cTNT) indicate progressive subclinical myocardial damage and have been associated with heart failure (HF) and death in asymptomatic older adults. Whether these associations exist in middle-age and whether serial hs-cTNT is more strongly associated with HF with reduced ejection fraction (HFREF) or HF with preserved ejection fraction (HFPEF) is poorly understood.
Methods:
We studied 8,838 participants of the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities Study, initially free of coronary heart disease and HF, who had hs-cTNT measured at two time-points, 6 years apart. Using proportional hazards regression, we examined the association of absolute and relative change in hs-cTNT with incident HF hospitalization or death. Sensitivity analyses for HFPEF and HFREF were also conducted.
Results:
Mean age at baseline was 57 years, 57% were female and 21% were black. Over a maximum of 16 years follow-up there were 965 HF events and 1813 deaths. In adjusted models, incident detectable hs-cTNT (≥5ng/L) was associated with subsequent HF (Hazard Ratio [HR] 1.86, 95% Confidence Interval [CI] 1.53-2.25) and death (1.46 [1.28-1.68]). HRs were larger for incident hs-cTNT elevation (≥14ng/L) but similar for those with a relative increase >50% from baseline hs-cTNT (Table). In contrast, risk was lower for relative reductions >50% from baseline hs-cTNT. Temporal increases in hs-cTNT were associated with both HFREF and HFPEF in categorical analyses, however, when modeled continuously (per SD increase), absolute 6-year hs-cTNT change appeared to be more strongly associated with HFPEF hospitalization (HR 1.30 [1.06-1.60]) than with HFREF hospitalization (1.08 [0.88-1.33]).
Conclusions:
Absolute and relative change in hs-cTNT were independently associated with incident CHD, HF and death, even after adjustment for baseline hs-cTNT. Associations were generally consistent for both the HFREF and HFPEF phenotypes
Six-Year Change in High-Sensitivity Cardiac Troponin T and Risk of Subsequent Coronary Heart Disease, Heart Failure, and Death
