Baseline characteristics of post-ACS patients based on tertiles of 7-week high sensitivity (hs) troponin T levels
| Clinical variables | Tertile 1 | Tertile 2 | Tertile 3 | p Value for trend |
| No of patients | 104 | 116 | 106 | |
| hs Troponin T range (ng/l) | <7 | 7–15 | 15–2070 | |
| Age (SD) | 58 (11) | 65 (11) | 69 (10) | <0.001 |
| Male sex (%) | 63 | 73 | 68 | 0.303 |
| BMI (SD) | 29 (5) | 26 (4) | 27 (6) | 0.002 |
| Medical history (%) | ||||
| History of hypertension | 34 | 37 | 61 | <0.001 |
| Type II diabetes | 9 | 8 | 17 | 0.059 |
| Hypercholesterolaemia | 26 | 21 | 11 | 0.014 |
| Smoking history | 63 | 71 | 58 | 0.163 |
| Previous MI | 11 | 14 | 25 | 0.026 |
| Medication (%) | ||||
| Aspirin | 92 | 89 | 93 | 0.612 |
| Clopidogrel | 63 | 55 | 53 | 0.363 |
| Statin | 94 | 96 | 97 | 0.585 |
| β-Blocker | 83 | 86 | 80 | 0.470 |
| ACE inhibitor | 60 | 73 | 68 | 0.102 |
| Index diagnosis/treatment administered | ||||
| Non-ST elevation ACS (%) | 79 | 59 | 65 | 0.008 |
| Revascularisation (CABG/PCI) (%) | 36 | 30 | 35 | 0.504 |
| Admission GRACE score (SD) | 114 (32) | 139 (31) | 152 (36) | <0.001 |
| Diagnostic tests | ||||
| SBP (SD) | 125 (15) | 127 (20) | 131 (21) | 0.131 |
| DBP (SD) | 73 (9) | 72 (10) | 72 (11) | 0.395 |
| Haemoglobin (g/dl) (SD) | 13.5 (1.4) | 13.0 (1.5) | 12.3 (1.6) | <0.001 |
| Anaemia (%)* | 18 | 43 | 63 | <0.001 |
| Total cholesterol (mmol/l) (SD) | 3.9 (1.0) | 3.8 (0.9) | 3.5 (0.8) | 0.001 |
| HDL cholesterol (mmol/l) (SD) | 1.31 (0.56) | 1.28 (0.35) | 1.18 (0.32 | 0.080 |
| eGFR (ml/min) (SD) | 70 (12) | 67 (16) | 57 (17) | <0.001 |
| eGFR <60 (%) | 19 | 32 | 53 | <0.001 |
| Log 10 BNP (SD) | 1.6 (0.5) | 1.9 (0.4) | 2.3 (0.5) | <0.001 |
| Log 10 hs troponin (SD) | 0.6 (0.1) | 1.0 (0.1) | 1.4 (0.3) | <0.001 |
| Echo findings | ||||
| Impaired long axis function† | 11 | 34 | 57 | <0.001 |
| LVSD (%) | 4 | 16 | 32 | <0.001 |
| LVH (%) | 29 | 42 | 68 | <0.001 |
↵* Anaemia was defined according to the criteria of WHO, that is, haemoglobin level of <12 g/dl in women and haemoglobin of <13 g/dl in men.
↵† Impaired long axis function was defined as atrioventricular plane displacement of <1.0 cm.
ACS, acute coronary syndrome; BMI, body mass index; BNP, B-type natriuretic peptide; CABG, coronary artery bypass grafting; DBP, diastolic blood pressure; eGFR, estimated glomerular filtration rate; GRACE, Global Registry of Acute Coronary Events; HDL, high density lipoprotein; LVH, left ventricular hypertrophy; LVSD, left ventricular systolic dysfunction; MI, myocardial infarction; PCI, percutaneous coronary intervention; SBP, systolic blood pressure.