Troponin elevation independently associates with mortality in systemic sclerosis

Area of Science:

• Cardiology
• Rheumatology
• Biomarkers

Background:

• Cardiac involvement is frequent in systemic sclerosis (SSc).
• Elevated troponin can be an early indicator of myocardial disease in SSc.
• Identifying SSc patients with cardiac involvement is crucial for prognosis.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the association between elevated troponin and specific SSc characteristics.
• To determine if elevated troponin predicts poor outcomes in SSc patients.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective, cross-sectional study of 272 SSc patients with troponin measurements.
• Comparison of clinical data between patients with elevated and normal troponin.
• Survival analysis using Cox proportional hazards and regression models.

Main Results:

• 31% of SSc patients had elevated troponin.
• Elevated troponin correlated with diffuse SSc subtype, lower ejection fraction, reduced lung capacity, and higher pulmonary pressures.
• Elevated troponin was associated with significantly increased mortality (28% vs. 9.5%) and a 2.16-fold increased risk of death.

Conclusions:

• Elevated troponin may serve as a prognostic biomarker in SSc.
• This finding identifies a high-risk SSc subset requiring intensified cardiac monitoring.
• Further clinical investigation is warranted for SSc patients with elevated troponin.