Cardiac troponin measured by a high-sensitivity assay in hypertensive patients

Thanks to the rapid advances in laboratory techniques sensitive assays for measurement of cardiac troponin level have been recently introduced, and now is possible to determine ten-fold lower concentration of troponin in blood serum than the standard method used until now. The blood level of highly sensitive cardiac troponin in hypertensive patients is higher than in healthy persons, which may indicate increased necrosis or apoptosis of cardiac cells. Elevated high-sensitivity cardiac troponin concentration is an important risk factor for future cardiovascular complications independent of many co-existing contributing factors. In particular, elevated concentration of this troponin indicates the left ventricular hypertrophy and a tendency to develop heart failure. It has also been shown that elevated concentrations of high-sensitivity troponin are more common in non-dipper patients than in those with a normal circadian pattern of blood pressure. Few studies so far indicate that currently used antihypertensive therapy only slightly lower the increase concentration of those compounds in serum.