Cardiac troponin I is associated with non-sustained ventricular tachycardia in patients with hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy

As highly sensitive and specific markers of myocardial damage, cardiac troponins were demonstrated to correlate with clinical parameters of patients with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. However, the relationship between cardiac troponins and presence of non-sustained ventricular tachycardia (NSVT) in hypertrophic cardiomyopathy remains unclear. The aim of our study was to explore the association between serum cardiac troponin I (cTNI) and presence of NSVT in patients with hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy (HOCM). A total of 309 HOCM patients were enrolled in our study. All participants underwent clinical evaluations, including collections of medical history, blood tests, 24-h Holter monitoring, echocardiography, and cardiac magnetic resonance imaging. There were 53 (17.2%) patients with NSVT and 256 patients without it. Compared to patients without NSVT, serum cTNI (P < 0.001) and plasma NT-proBNP (P = 0.042) were significantly higher in patients with NSVT. Moreover, cTNI and NT-proBNP were positively correlated with left atrial diameter, maximum wall thickness (MWT), left ventricular volume index and left ventricular mass index. In multivariable logistic analysis, log cTNI [odds ratio (OR) = 2.408, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.108–5.325, P = 0.027], left ventricular end-diastole diameter (OR = 0.922, 95%CI 0.856–0.994, P = 0.034), MWT (OR = 1.131, 95%CI 1.035–1.235, P = 0.006) and left ventricular end-systole volume index (OR = 1.060, 95%CI 1.025–1.096, P = 0.001) were independent determinants of NSVT occurrence after adjustment for potential cofounders. Serum cTNI level was elevated in patients with NSVT. And it was independently associated with NSVT in patients with HOCM. Our results suggest that it may be more reasonable for HOCM patients with elevated serum cTNI to extend the time of Holter monitoring.