What is Troponin Test

Troponin test is used to help determine if you have had a heart attack or other injury to the heart (cardiac) muscle. You may have this test if:

• You are having chest pain or other symptoms of a heart attack.
• You have heart disease.
• You have had heart surgery.
• You had complications during surgery, such as bleeding or very low blood pressure.
• You have a critical illness (sepsis).

The test is used along with other tests to diagnose heart damage (ischemia).

What is being tested?

This test measures the concentration of troponin in your blood. Troponins are proteins that help muscles contract. Cardiac-specific troponins are normally present in very small amounts in the blood. When there is damage to heart muscle cells, troponins are released into the blood. The more damage there is, the greater the concentration of troponins.

There is more than one type of troponin protein. Depending on the lab where you have your test done, you may have troponin T, troponin I, or a high-sensitivity troponin (hsT) tested. When a person has damage to the heart cells, levels of troponin can become elevated in the blood within a few hours after the injury and may remain elevated for 10–14 days.

What kind of sample is taken?

A blood sample is required for this test. It is usually collected by inserting a needle into a blood vessel.

Usually, the first blood sample is collected, and then another sample is collected 3–6 hours later. Another sample may be collected after 6 hours if:

• Your results were normal, but you are at risk for a heart attack.
• You had a heart attack, and your health care provider wants to monitor your treatment.

How do I prepare for this test?

There is no preparation required for this test.

How are the results reported?

Your test results will be reported as values. Your health care provider will compare your results to normal ranges that were established after testing a large group of people (reference ranges). Reference ranges may vary among labs and hospitals. For this test, some examples of common reference ranges are:

• Cardiac troponin T: less than 0.1 ng/mL.
• Cardiac troponin I: less than 0.03 ng/mL.
• hsT: less than 10 ng/L in women and less than 15 ng/L in men.

What do the results mean?

Troponin values above the reference values may indicate:

• Heart attack.
• Heart failure.
• Other injury to the heart muscle.
• Inflammation of the heart muscle (myocarditis).

A result above the reference range does not always mean that you have heart damage. Test levels can be falsely elevated in people after dialysis or in people with certain medical conditions.

Talk with your health care provider about what your results mean.

Questions to ask your health care provider

Ask your health care provider, or the department that is doing the test:

• When will my results be ready?
• How will I get my results?
• What are my treatment options?
• What other tests do I need?
• What are my next steps?

Summary

• The cardiac-specific troponin test is used to determine if you have had a heart attack or other injury to cardiac muscle.
• Usually, the first blood sample is collected, and then another blood sample is collected several hours (3–6 hours) later.
• Troponin values above the reference values may indicate heart attack or other injury to cardiac muscle.
• Talk with your health care provider about the meaning of your results.