Prognostic Value of High-Sensitivity Troponin T in Chronic Heart Failure An Individual Patient Data Meta-Analysis

BACKGROUND: Most patients with chronic heart failure have detectable troponin concentrations when evaluated by high-sensitivity assays. The prognostic relevance of this finding has not been clearly established so far. We aimed to assess high-sensitivity troponin assay for risk stratification in chronic heart failure through a meta-analysis approach.METHODS: Medline, EMBASE, Cochrane Library, and Scopus were searched in April 2017 by 2 independent authors. The terms were "troponin" AND "heart failure" OR "cardiac failure" OR "cardiac dysfunction" OR "cardiac insufficiency" OR "left ventricular dysfunction." Inclusion criteria were English language, clinical stability, use of a high-sensitivity troponin assay, follow-up studies, and availability of individual patient data after request to authors. Data retrieved from articles and provided by authors were used in agreement with the PRISMA statement. The end points were all-cause death, cardiovascular death, and hospitalization for cardiovascular cause.RESULTS: Ten studies were included, reporting data on 11 cohorts and 9289 patients (age 6612 years, 77% men, 60% ischemic heart failure, 85% with left ventricular ejection fractionCONCLUSIONS: In chronic heart failure, high-sensitivity troponin T is a strong and independent predictor of all-cause and cardiovascular mortality, and of hospitalization for cardiovascular causes, as well. This biomarker then represents an additional tool for prognostic stratification.