Correlation of concentrations of high-sensitivity troponin T and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein with plaque progression as measured by CT coronary angiography

Harald Seifarth, Christopher Schlett, Sam Lehman, Fabian Bamberg, Patrick Donnelly, James Januzzi, Wolfgang Koenig, Quynh Truong, Udo Hoffmann

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    16 Citations (Scopus)

    Abstract

    Background: Elevated levels of inflammatory biomarkers are associated with increased cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. Objective: We sought to determine whether elevated concentrations of high-sensitivity troponin T (hs-TnT) and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) predict progression of coronary artery disease (CAD) as determined by coronary CT angiography (coronary CTA). Methods: Patients presenting to the emergency department with acute chest pain who initially showed no evidence of an acute coronary syndrome underwent baseline and follow-up coronary CTA (median follow-up, 23.9months) using identical acquisition and reconstruction parameters. Coronary CTA data of each major coronary artery were co-registered. Cross-sections were assessed for the presence of calcified and noncalcified plaques. Progression of atherosclerotic plaque and change of plaque composition from noncalcified to calcified plaque was evaluated and correlated to levels of hs-TnT and hs-CRP at the time of the baseline CT. Results: Fifty-four patients (mean age, 54.1years; 59% male) were included, and 6775 cross-sections were compared. CAD was detected in 12.2 ± 21.2 cross-sections per patient at baseline. Prevalence of calcified plaque increased by 1.5 ± 2.4 slices per patient (P < .0001) over the follow-up period. On average, 1.6 ± 3.6 slices with new noncalcified plaque were found per patient (P < .0001) and 0.7 ± 1.7 slices with pre-existing noncalcified plaque had progressed to calcified plaque (P < .0001). After multivariate adjustment, change ofoverallCAD burden was predicted by baseline hs-TnT and hs-CRP (r= 0.29; P= .039 andr= 0.40; P= .004). Change of plaque composition was associated with baseline hs-TnT (r= 0.29; P= .03). Conclusion: Concentrations of hs-TnT and hs-CRP are weakly associated with a significant increase in CAD burden and change in plaque composition over 24months independent of baseline risk factors.

    Original languageEnglish
    Pages (from-to)452-458
    Number of pages7
    JournalJournal of Cardiovascular Computed Tomography
    Volume8
    Issue number6
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - 2014

    Keywords

    • Cardiac biomarker
    • Coronary artery disease
    • Coronary atherosclerotic plaque
    • Coronary CT angiography
    • Plaque progression

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