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Cardiac troponin T elevations, using highly sensitive assay, in recreational running depend on running distance

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Abstract

Background

Endurance exercise is frequently associated with cardiac troponin (cTn) concentrations, otherwise corresponding to minor myocardial infarction. However, research on the underlying mechanisms has been limited because of assay restraints in the low concentration range.

Methods and results

Using the pre-commercial, highly sensitive hs-cTnT assay, cTnT concentrations were measured in samples from recreational runners obtained before and after running 5 km (trained, n = 43/untrained, n = 122), 15 km (n = 38), 21 km (n = 10), and 42 km (n = 85) (all trained). The percentage of runners with elevated cTnT concentrations after the run increased with running distance (0, 11, 13, 40, and 86%), in contrast to NT-proBNP (2, 7, 0, 0, 5). Median (IQR) cTnT post-run concentrations were 0.004 μg/L (0.003), 0.006 μg/L (0.008), 0.010 μg/L (0.006), 0.014 μg/L (0.019), and 0.030 μg/L (0.029), respectively.

Conclusions

We found, using a novel hs-cTnT assay, the distance of recreational competitive running to be positively related to asymptomatic increases in cTnT post-run concentrations. In contrast, NT-proBNP showed no increase. In addition, the data indicated that a relatively short running distance of 5 km resulted in cTnT release of untrained participants, in contrast to trained participants, which underlines the necessity of sufficient training. Further effort is needed to clarify the significance of exercise-induced cardiac biomarker elevations.

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Acknowledgments

The authors thank the organizations and the participating runners of Maastrichts Mooiste 2007, the Maas Marathon 2007 and the HAPPY Globally Foundation for their kind co-operation, and Etienne Michielsen for initiating the exercise study. Moreover, the hs-cTnT kits used in this study were kindly provided by Roche Diagnostics.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Clinical Chemistry, Maastricht University Medical Center, Box 5800, 6202 AZ, Maastricht, The Netherlands

    Alma M. A. Mingels, Leo H. J. Jacobs, Vincent W. Kleijnen, Will K. W. H. Wodzig & Marja P. van Dieijen-Visser

  2. Department of Cardiology, Maastricht University, Maastricht, The Netherlands

    Eduard M. Laufer & Leonard Hofstra

  3. Department of Methodology and Statistics, Maastricht University, Maastricht, The Netherlands

    Bjorn Winkens

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  1. Alma M. A. Mingels
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  2. Leo H. J. Jacobs
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  8. Marja P. van Dieijen-Visser
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Correspondence to Marja P. van Dieijen-Visser.

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Mingels, A.M.A., Jacobs, L.H.J., Kleijnen, V.W. et al. Cardiac troponin T elevations, using highly sensitive assay, in recreational running depend on running distance. Clin Res Cardiol 99, 385–391 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00392-010-0134-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00392-010-0134-x

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