What Is Troponin?

You or someone you know had a troponin test at the ER. Now you're left wondering, "What is troponin?" The short answer is that troponin is both a protein in your heart and a kind of test. This blog post will cover both.

What Is Troponin in Your Heart?

Troponin is a protein that lives in your heart muscle. Usually, there is very little trace of it in your blood. However, if your heart is hurt, more troponin can leak into your blood. This makes your troponin levels go up.

What Is a Troponin Test?

The troponin test is a blood test. It checks how much troponin there is in your blood. If there is a lot of troponin in your blood, your heart might be damaged. Your heart care team will likely perform the test in a healthcare setting, like an emergency room. Your provider might order an EKG test to go along with a troponin test. Performing both tests can confirm results and help support a diagnosis. Troponin tests are often used to check for heart attacks.

What Do Troponin Levels Mean?

Troponin levels can be confusing. Your Baptist Health cardiologist can help explain what your specific levels mean. In general, high levels signal heart damage. The more damage, the more troponin in your blood. But a lot of troponin doesn't automatically mean you've had a heart attack.

Here are other possible causes of high troponin levels:

• Heart infection. An infection can affect the heart muscle directly.
• Kidney issues. Problems with your kidneys can slow down troponin from leaving your body. Examples might be kidney disease or kidney infection.
• Sepsis. A serious infection can put extra stress on your heart.

Levels of troponin tend to go up over a few hours. They can stay high for several days.

When Symptoms Need Urgent Care

If you have signs of a heart attack, call 911 and get help immediately. Signs include chest pain, chest pressure, trouble breathing, nausea and cold sweats. Another sign is pain spreading to your arm or jaw. These symptoms are serious and should not be ignored.

Talk With Baptist Health

If you have any questions about troponin or your heart health, reach out to your Baptist Health cardiologist. If you do not have a cardiologist, you can find one by visiting our provider directory.