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Troponin I - 000242

This is a test which measures the level of the protein called troponin I present in the blood. This protein is present in both cardiac muscle and skeletal muscle, but there is a one type of troponin I which is specific to cardiac muscle only. And it is this specific type of troponin I which is measured in this test.

The troponin I test will help your doctor evaluate the level of the protein, troponin I present in the blood, and determine the presence of any damage to the heart muscle. The greater the amount of damage, the higher the levels of troponin I present in your blood. This in turn will give your doctor an idea about the severity of the condition you are suffering from as well.

Your doctor will order this test when they suspect that you might be having a condition which has affected your heart muscle and caused some damage, such as in a myocardial infarction. Troponin I has been used as a reliable marker of acute coronary syndromes. This test can also be used to assess silent myocardial infarctions as the troponin levels remain elevated up to 10 days following the myocardial infarction.

There are no special preparations that you have to make before you undergo this test.

During this, a Medical Lab Technician will draw out a small volume of blood, using a needle and syringe which is inserted into a vein in your arm. This blood sample is then sent to the lab for analysis.

Since this test is a simple drawing of blood, you will not feel a lot of discomfort. You might experience a mild pain on inserting the needle, but you will not experience any uneasiness afterwards.

There is very little risk in undergoing a troponin I test, because it is a simple blood drawing. Very rarely you might continue to have a mild pain or some swelling at the site where the needle was inserted, but these symptoms will resolve on their own within a couple of days.

The normal value for the level of troponin I in your blood should be less than 0.05 ng/ml in patients older than 17 years of age. If you have levels greater than this, it does not necessarily indicate a myocardial infarction, and can even sometime be due to non-cardiac causes such as renal failure and pulmonary embolism. If you have values greater than 0.05 ng/ml then you should speak with your doctor regarding this.

As mentioned above, although this is considered to be a cardiac specific test, there may be other health conditions which can result in elevated levels of troponin I such as renal failure and pulmonary embolism. Therefore you need to discuss these pre-existing conditions with your doctor before you undergo this test.