Markers of cardiac myocyte injury have contributed over the years to the diagnosis and to the assessment of size of myocardial infarction. Recent evidence suggests that measurement of the release of cardiac contractile proteins into the bloodstream at lower levels may be useful in the clinical assessment of patients who have acute or chronic heart failure. The advent of a new generation of high-sensitivity immunoassays for cardiac troponins offers challenges for scientists and clinicians and will likely change the understanding and interpretation of cardiac injury.
Istituto di Ricerche Farmacologiche “Mario Negri,” Milan, Italy
Corresponding author. Department of Cardiovascular Research, Istituto di Ricerche Farmacologiche “Mario Negri,” via Giuseppe La Masa 19, 20156 Milan, Italy
The authors received grant support and honoraria from Roche Diagnostics, the manufacturer of the high-sensitive troponin assay discussed in this article.
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