Aims: The prognostic value of admission troponin T (tnT) levels and the resolution of the ST-segment elevation in ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) is well established. However, the combination of these two early available markers for predicting risk has not been evaluated.
Methods and results: We evaluated 516 patients with fibrinolytic treated STEMI from the ASSENT-2 and ASSENT-PLUS studies, which had both admission tnT and ST-monitoring available. We used a prospectively defined cut-off value of tnT of 0.1microg/l. For ST-segment resolution, a cut-off of 50% measured after 60min was used. Both a tnT >/=0.1microg/l (n=116) and ST-segment resolution <50% (n=301) were related to higher one-year mortality, 13% vs 4% (P<0.001) and 8.4% vs 2.8% (P=0.009), respectively. In a multivariate analysis ST-segment resolution was and tnT showed a strong trend to be independently related to mortality. The combination of both further improved risk stratification. The one-year mortality in the group with elevation of tnT and without ST-segment resolution compared to the group without tnT elevation and with ST-segment resolution was 18.2% vs 2.8% (P<0.001).
Conclusions: Both tnT on admission and ST-segment resolution after 60min are strong predictors of one-year mortality. The combination of both gives additive early information about prognosis and further improves risk stratification.