Association of High-Sensitivity Cardiac Troponin T With 30-Day and 5-Year Mortality After Cardiac Surgery

The relevance of perioperative myocardial injury (PMI) after cardiac surgery for 30-day mortality and long-term survival remains to be determined.

This study assessed the association of PMI after cardiac surgery, reflected by postoperative troponin release, with 30-day mortality and long-term survival after: 1) coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG); 2) isolated aortic valve replacement (AVR) surgery; and 3) all other cardiac surgeries.

A consecutive cohort of 8,292 patients undergoing cardiac surgery with serial perioperative high-sensitivity cardiac troponin T (hs-cTnT) measurements was retrospectively analyzed. The relationship between postoperative hs-cTnT release and 30-day mortality or 5-year mortality was analyzed after adjustment with EuroSCORE II using a Cox proportional hazards model. hs-cTnT thresholds for 30-day and 5-year mortality were determined for isolated CABG (32.3%), AVR (14%), and other cardiac surgery (53.8%).

High postoperative hs-cTnT levels were associated with higher 30-day mortality but not 5-year mortality. In CABG, median peak concentration of postoperative hs-cTnT was 1,044 ng/L, in AVR it was 502 ng/L, and in other cardiac surgery it was 1,110 ng/L. hs-cTnT thresholds defining mortality-associated PMI were as follows: for CABG, 2,385 ng/L (170× the upper reference limit of normal in a seemingly healthy population [URL]); for AVR, 568 ng/L (41× URL); and for other cardiac procedures, 1,873 ng/L (134× URL). hs-cTnT levels above the cutoffs resulted in an HR for 30-day mortality for CABG of 12.56 (P < 0.001), for AVR of 4.44 (P = 0.004), and for other cardiac surgery of 3.97 (P < 0.001).

PMI reflected by perioperative hs-cTnT release is associated with the expected 30-day mortality but not 5-year mortality. Postoperative hs-cTnT cutoffs to identify survival-relevant PMI are higher than suggested in current definitions.