Baseline High-Sensitive-Cardiac Troponin I as a Predictor of Fatality in Stable Chronic Heart Failure Patients in Nigeria

Background: The prognostic value of high-sensitive-cardiac troponin I (hs-cTnI), a biomarker for heart failure (HF), has been well studied in developed countries. However, its significance in patients with chronic HF (CHF) in Nigeria and Africa at large remains unknown. Methods: This was a hospital-based prospective study. Sixty-four consecutive consenting patients with clinical and echocardiographic evaluation for HF attending cardiology clinic were recruited. They all had resting 12-lead electrocardiogram done. Blood sample for serum hs-cTnI assay (enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay), electrolytes, urea, and creatinine was obtained at recruitment and at 6 months. The participants were followed up monthly for 6 months from baseline to determine the case fatality rate and hospitalization rate. Results: At the end of 6 months, four patients were lost to follow-up. Eight participants died of HF-related cause and had statistically significantly higher mean recruitment serum hs-cTnI levels than the survivors (0.35 ± 0.05 ng/ml vs. 0.23 ± 0.02 ng/ml),P ≤ 0.001. Baseline hs-cTnI ≥0.25 ng/ml was found to be an independent significant prognostic predictor of HF fatality on Cox regression analysis. Conclusions: This study demonstrated that hs-cTnI was predictive of HF fatality in a cohort of patients with CHF in Nigeria. Thus, it may be used to risk stratify patients as a guide to identify those likely to benefit from more aggressive management.