ABSTRACT
PURPOSE: Cardiac troponin I (cTnI) is a highly sensitive and specific marker for myocardial injury, and is used to predict the outcomes in patients with acute coronary syndromes. Cardiovascular complications are the leading cause of morbidity and mortality in patients who underwent vascular surgical procedures. The aim of the study was to evaluate the association between the postoperative cTnI levels and a perioperative myocardial injury (MI) within 6 months after the vascular surgical procedures. METHODS: Eighty patients who underwent vascular surgery including an arterial bypass, amputation and a thrombectomy were included in this study. The blood samples were analyzed for cTnI immediately after surgery and 1, 2, and 3 days after surgery. RESULTS: An elevated cTnI was defined as a serum concentrations > 0.4 ng/ml in any of 4 samples. Seven patients (8.7%) had postoperative cTnI levels of > 0.4 ng/ml, which was associated with a higher risk of a postoperative cardiac event (P or =0.4 ng/ml may indicate myocardial damage after vascular surgical procedures. Therefore, the routine postoperative measurement of cTnI might be a useful predictive value of the postoperative cardiac events after vascular surgical procedures.