Making sense of high sensitivity troponin assays and their role in clinical care.

Cardiac troponin assays have an established and undisputed role in the diagnosis and risk stratification of patients with acute myocardial infarction. As troponin assays gets more sensitive and more precise, the number of potential uses has rapidly expanded, but the use of this test has also become more complicated and controversial. Highly sensitive troponin assays can now detect troponin levels in most individuals, but accurate interpretation of these levels requires a clear understanding of the assay in the context of the clinical scenario. This paper provides a practical and up-to-date overview of the uses of highly sensitive troponin assays for diagnosis, prognosis, and risk stratification in clinical practice.