Usefulness of troponin I for predicting systolic dysfunction in acute coronary syndromes.: Results of a prospective and quantitative study

The relationship between troponin I and systolic function (quantitative contrast ventriculography) was evaluated in 137 consecutive patients with a first acute coronary syndrome (60 with and 77 without ST elevation). In general, a larger troponin I peak value was related with a more depressed ejection fraction and poorer regional systolic function (p < 0.0001). Nevertheless, this correlation was weaker than expected, especially in those cases without ST-segment elevation, suggesting that other factors apart from systolic dysfunction must be taken into account in order to explain the worse prognosis of those patients with increased serum levels of this marker of myocardial damage.