Evaluation of high-sensitivity cardiac troponin t levels in Japanese patients recently recovered from coronavirus disease 2019

Abstract

Background: Several studies have reported elevated troponin levels in coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients, so we investigated myocardial damage by measuring high-sensitivity troponin T (hsTnT) levels and analyzed the relationship with comorbidities. Methods and Results: Of 209 patients who recently recovered from COVID-19, 65% had an elevated hsTnT level that was higher than levels in patients with acute phase infection despite most patients (79%) having a mild illness. The hsTnT levels correlated with disease severity, sex, comorbidities, and ACEi and ARB use. Conclusions: Myocardial damage occurs in the recovery phase of COVID-19, and its evaluation, regardless of patient age, should be considered.