Premorbid levels of high-sensitivity cardiac troponin T and natriuretic peptide and prognosis after incident myocardial infarction

Am Heart J. 2019 Oct:216:62-73. doi: 10.1016/j.ahj.2019.07.002. Epub 2019 Jul 13.

Abstract

High-sensitivity cardiac troponin T (hs-cTnT) and N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) at the time of myocardial infarction (MI) are strong predictors of prognosis. However, whether their premorbid (before MI occurrence) levels are associated with prognosis after incident MI is unknown.

Methods: In 1,054 participants from the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities Study with incident MI, we evaluated premorbid levels of hs-cTnT and NT-proBNP measured on median 5.8 (interquartile interval 3.0-11.5 [mean 5.5]) years prior to incident MI and their associations with subsequent composite and individual outcomes of all-cause mortality, cardiovascular mortality, recurrent MI, heart failure, and stroke.

Results: During a median follow-up of 3.0 years after MI, 801 participants developed the composite outcome. Both hs-cTnT and NT-proBNP were independently associated with the composite outcome after incident MI. Among individual outcomes, all-cause mortality, cardiovascular mortality, and heart failure showed significant associations with both cardiac markers. Overall, NT-proBNP demonstrated a more evident relationship than hs-cTnT. Indeed, the addition of premorbid NT-proBNP alone, but not hs-cTnT alone, to conventional predictors at incident MI significantly improved risk prediction of the composite outcome after incident MI (Δc-statistic 0.013 [95% CI 0.005-0.022] from 0.691 with conventional predictors).

Conclusions: Premorbid levels of hs-cTnT and NT-proBNP assessed on average 6 years prior to incident MI were associated with adverse outcomes after incident MI. These results further highlight the importance of cardiac health at an earlier stage of life.

Publication types

  • Multicenter Study
  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural

MeSH terms

  • Aged
  • Asymptomatic Diseases / epidemiology*
  • Biomarkers
  • Cohort Studies
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Incidence
  • Kaplan-Meier Estimate
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Myocardial Infarction / blood*
  • Myocardial Infarction / diagnosis
  • Myocardial Infarction / epidemiology*
  • Natriuretic Peptide, Brain / blood*
  • Peptide Fragments / blood*
  • Predictive Value of Tests
  • Prognosis
  • Prospective Studies
  • Risk Assessment
  • Sensitivity and Specificity
  • Survival Analysis
  • Troponin T / blood*
  • United States

Substances

  • Biomarkers
  • Peptide Fragments
  • Troponin T
  • pro-brain natriuretic peptide (1-76)
  • Natriuretic Peptide, Brain