What is the importance of cardiac troponin elevations?
Cardiac troponin elevations convey prognostic assessment beyond that of clinical information, the initial ECG, and the predischarge. They are useful for short- and long-term prognosis, and can provide information to direct therapy. Patients with cardiac troponin elevations are at high risk and benefit from intensive management and early High risk is optimally defined by the changing pattern as described in Section 3.4.3. Cardiac troponin elevations correlate with estimation of infarct size and risk of death; persistent elevation 72 to 96 hours after symptom onset may provide relevant information in this regard.