High Sensitive Troponin test first to measure impact of mental stress on the heart

Data presented at the American College of Cardiology shows that patients who develop stress-induced ischaemia (inadequate oxygen flow to the heart) have higher levels of troponin,¹  which are associated with worse long term outcomes.²

Doctors could eventually use this information to prevent serious complications from developing by helping patients manage stress through treatment and therapies.

The stresses of life have long been thought to increase a person’s risk of heart disease.³ But the question remains how to measure the impact of different types of stress on the heart. Now, new research conducted at Emory University shows that Abbott’s ARCHITECT STAT High Sensitive Troponin-I (hsTnl) test may detect whether stress –mental and physical – leads to an inadequate oxygen supply to the heart among people with coronary artery disease.¹

Data results from a clinical trial presented at the American College of Cardiology 65^th Annual Scientific Session show that patients developing stress-induced ischaemia (inadequate oxygen flow to the heart) are likely to have high levels of troponin, a protein that at increased levels can indicate injury to the heart.¹ Over time, if there is a mismatch in oxygen flow to the heart, there is the potential to damage the muscle and lead to serious health issues, such as heart attack, heart failure or even death.⁴  High sensitive troponin tests, including the one used in this study from Abbott, are in development and not commercially available in the United States.

“We’ve always believed that stress can be harmful to cardiac health. We now show that this harm is also reflected by elevated levels of circulating troponin in the circulation,” says lead study author Dr Arshed A Quyyumi, MD, professor of medicine, Division of Cardiology at Emory University School of Medicine, and co-director of the Emory Clinical Cardiovascular Research Institute. “With this study, for the first time doctors have a way to measure that impact of ischaemia with a high sensitive troponin test. Because we and others have shown that a higher circulating level of troponin is associated with worse long term outcomes such as heart attack or even death, doctors may eventually use this information to prevent serious complications from developing.”

References

1. Hammadah M et al. High sensitivity cardiac troponin I is associated with mental and conventional stress induced myocardial ischemia. Emory University oral poster presentation at the 2016 American of Cardiology Meeting.
2. Thygesen K et al. Third universal definition of myocardial infarction. Eur Heart J 2012;33:2551–67.
3. Stress and heart health. American Heart Association. Website: http://www.heart.org/HEARTORG/HealthyLiving/StressManagement/HowDoesStressAffectYou/Stress-and-Heart-Health_UCM_437370_Article.jsp#.VvQVXNIrKUk.
4. Coronary heart disease. National Institutes of Health: National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. Website: http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/health-topics/topics/cad.