Troponin Test
Troponin Test
- This test is meant to measure the amount of a protein called Troponin T or I in the blood
- No special preparation is required.
- This test would provide two values – Troponin T and Troponin I
What is Troponin Test ?
Troponin is a protein which gets released in the blood whenever there is injury to the heart muscle due to a heart attack. Greater the damage to the heart muscle, higher will be the quantity of Troponin protein in the blood. Any patient who is suffering from chest pain or angina is screened for heart attack. Most common tests for this are Troponin Blood Test and ECG. In some cases of heart attack, the Troponin Test results are normal within the first few hours. The tests needs to be repeated within the first 6-24 hours. The test may be done along with other cardiac marker tests, such as CPK isoenzymes or myoglobin.
Reported Parameters
- Troponin T value
- Troponin I value
All The Questions that you might have
- When is Troponin Test done ?
- How to interpret Troponin Test results ?
- Can a person have raised Troponin Levels without having a heart attack ?
- What is the normal range for Troponin Test ?
The most common reason to perform this test is to see if a heart attack has occurred. Your health care provider will order this test if you have chest pain and other signs of a heart attack. The test is usually repeated two more times over the next 6 to 24 hours.
Your provider may also order this test if you have angina that is getting worse, but no other signs of a heart attack like normal ECG. (Angina is chest pain thought to be from a part of your heart not getting enough blood flow.)
The troponin test may also be done to help detect and evaluate other causes of heart injury.
Raised Troponin Levels – Even a slight increase in the troponin level will often mean there has been some damage to the heart. Very high levels of troponin are a sign that a heart attack has occurred. Most patients who have had a heart attack have increased troponin levels within 6 hours. After 12 hours, almost everyone who has had a heart attack will have raised levels. Troponin levels may remain high for 1 to 2 weeks after a heart attack.
Normal Troponin Levels – Having normal troponin levels 12 hours after chest pain has started means a heart attack is unlikely. If the troponin test is done very early after the onset of chest pain or other symptoms of heart attack, the values may come normal. In such case the test needs to the repeated twice within 6-24 hours.
Increased troponin levels may also be due to:
- Abnormally fast heartbeat
- High blood pressure in lung arteries (pulmonary hypertension)
- Blockage of a lung artery by a blood clot, fat, or tumor cells (pulmonary embolus)
- Congestive heart failure
- Coronary artery spasm
- Inflammation of the heart muscle usually due to a virus (myocarditis)
- Prolonged exercise (for example, due to marathons or triathlons)
- Trauma that injures the heart, such as a car accident
- Weakening of the heart muscle (cardiomyopathy)
- Long-term kidney disease
Increased troponin levels may also result from certain medical procedures such as:
- Cardiac angioplasty/stenting
- Heart defibrillation or electrical cardioversion (purposeful shocking of the heart by medical personnel to correct an abnormal heart rhythm)
- Open heart surgery
- Radiofrequency ablation of the heart
- Troponin I: Normal Range : 0 – 0.04 ng/mL.
- Troponin T: Normal Range : 0 – 0.01 ng/mL.
Here ng stands for nanogram which is one billionth of a gram. Even small quantity of troponin protein in the blood indicates damage to the heart muscle.
