Background: Elevated cardiac troponin T is a well-documented marker of cardiomyocyte damage and poor prognosis in patients with heart failure. We prospectively evaluated the relationship between this marker and hematopoietic disturbances in heart failure.
Methods: Data were analyzed from 254 patients in the UNITE-HF Biomarker Registry, a prospective, observational, multicenter study of the clinical and biomarker correlates of anemia in heart failure. Logistic regression modeling assessed relationships between detectable troponin T and indices of hematologic function including anemia and red cell distribution width.
Results: Anemia (hemoglobin≤12 g/dL) was present in 65 of the 254 study patients, and detectable troponin T was found in 39. Anemia was a significant independent predictor of detectable troponin T in models that considered a number of clinical characteristics including renal function, functional class, heart rate, and systolic blood pressure (odds ratio 2.57, 95% CI 1.09-6.09, P=.032). Likewise, detectable troponin T was directly and independently related to red cell distribution width in similar multivariable analyses (odds ratio 1.36 per unit increase, 95% CI 1.08-1.71, P=.008).
Conclusions: Anemia and increasing red cell distribution width were independently associated with elevated troponin T, a marker of cardiomyocyte injury or death in patients with heart failure.
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