Cardiac Troponin T Measured by a Highly Sensitive Assay Predicts Coronary Heart Disease, Heart Failure, and Mortality in the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities Study

BACKGROUND: We evaluated whether cardiac troponin T (cTnT) measured with a new highly sensitive assay was associated with incident coronary heart disease (CHD), mortality, and hospitalization for heart failure (HF) in a general population of participants in the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) Study. METHODS AND RESULTS: Associations between increasing cTnT levels and CHD, mortality, and HF hospitalization were evaluated with Cox proportional hazards models adjusted for traditional CHD risk factors, kidney function, high-sensitivity C-reactive protein, and N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide in 9698 participants aged 54 to 74 years who at baseline were free from CHD and stroke (and HF in the HF analysis). Measurable cTnT levels (≥0.003 μg/L) were detected in 66.5% of individuals. In fully adjusted models, compared with participants with undetectable levels, those with cTnT levels in the highest category (≥0.014 μg/L; 7.4% of the ARIC population) had significantly increased risk for CHD (hazard ratio=2.29; 95% confidence interval, 1.81 to 2.89), fatal CHD (hazard ratio=7.59; 95% confidence interval, 3.78 to 15.25), total mortality (hazard ratio=3.96; 95% confidence interval, 3.21 to 4.88), and HF (hazard ratio=5.95; 95% confidence interval, 4.47 to 7.92). Even minimally elevated cTnT (≥0.003 μg/L) was associated with increased risk for mortality and HF (P<0.05). Adding cTnT to traditional risk factors improved risk prediction parameters; the improvements were similar to those with N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide and better than those with the addition of high-sensitivity C-reactive protein. CONCLUSIONS: cTnT detectable with a highly sensitive assay was associated with incident CHD, mortality, and HF in individuals from a general population without known CHD/stroke.