Baseline characteristics according to troponin status
| All (n=693) | Troponin ≤14 ng/L (n=547) | Troponin >14 ng/L (n=146) | |
| Presentations (quantity) | 3 (3–5) | 3 (3–5) | 4 (3–6)*** |
| Outpatient clinic | 3 (2–4) | 3 (2–4) | 3 (2–4) |
| Admission to hospital | 0 (0–1) | 0 (0–1) | 0 (0–1)*** |
| Admission to emergency department | 0 (0–0) | 0 (0–0) | 0 (0–1)*** |
| Age (years) | 66.3±12.3 | 64.2±11.9 | 74.3±10.3*** |
| Male gender, n (%) | 519 (74.9) | 391 (71.5) | 128 (87.7)*** |
| Risk factors, n (%) | |||
| Diabetes mellitus | 136 (19.7) | 92 (16.9) | 44 (30.1)*** |
| Dyslipidaemia | 580 (84.9) | 455 (84.4) | 125 (86.8) |
| Hypertension | 574 (84.3) | 442 (82.3) | 132 (91.7)** |
| Smoking | 32 (13.1) | 4 (6.2) | 28 (15.6)*** |
| Ex-smoker | 100 (41.0) | 71 (39.7) | 29 (44.6) |
| Family history of coronary artery disease | 258 (52.9) | 224 (55.6) | 34 (40.0)** |
| Medical history, n (%) | |||
| Coronary artery disease | 420 (60.6) | 311 (56.9) | 109 (74.7)*** |
| Acute myocardial infarction | 185 (26.7) | 136 (24.9) | 49 (33.6)* |
| Percutaneous coronary intervention | 293 (42.3) | 229 (41.9) | 64 (44.1) |
| Coronary artery bypass graft | 99 (14.3) | 54 (9.9) | 45 (30.8)*** |
| Cardiomyopathy | 83 (12.0) | 50 (9.1) | 33 (22.6)*** |
| Chronic heart failure | 208 (30.0) | 156 (28.5) | 52 (35.6) |
| Dysarhythmia | 200 (28.9) | 140 (25.6) | 60 (41.1)*** |
| Valvular disease | 472 (68.1) | 358 (65.4) | 114 (78.1)** |
| Arterial occlusive disease | 128 (18.5) | 71 (13.0) | 57 (39.0)*** |
| Pulmonary disease | 80 (11.5) | 56 (10.2) | 24 (16.4)* |
| Kidney disease | 60 (8.7) | 28 (5.1) | 32 (21.9)*** |
| History of stroke | 45 (6.5) | 29 (5.3) | 16 (11.0)* |
| Rheumatic disease | 13 (1.9) | 8 (1.5) | 5 (3.4) |
| Cancer | 78 (11.3) | 57 (10.4) | 21 (14.4) |
| Other | 229 (33.0) | 211 (38.6) | 18 (12.3)*** |
| Clinical chemistry | |||
| High-sensitivity cardiac troponin T (ng/L) | 6 (3–13) | 4 (3–8) | 21 (17–29)*** |
| N-terminal pro b-type natriuretic peptide (ng/L) | 193 (84–484) | 153 (78–374) | 443 (197–1472)*** |
| Creatinine (mg/dL) | 1.0 (0.9–1.1) | 0.9 (0.8–1.1) | 1.0 (1.0–1.0)*** |
| Estimated glomerular filtration rate (mL/min/1.73 m2) | 82.9±30.0 | 87.3±28.8 | 65.9±28.2*** |
| Medication, n (%) | |||
| Antihypertensive therapy | 576 (83.1) | 438 (80.1) | 138 (94.5)*** |
| Diuretics | 256 (36.9) | 177 (32.4) | 79 (54.1)*** |
| Acetylsalicylic acid | 395 (57.0) | 324 (59.2) | 71 (48.6)* |
| Clopidogrel | 103 (14.9) | 76 (13.9) | 27 (18.5) |
| Statins | 500 (72.2) | 385 (70.4) | 115 (78.8) |
| Antiarrhythmics | 414 (59.7) | 299 (54.7) | 115 (78.8)*** |
| Insulin | 19 (2.7) | 7 (1.3) | 12 (8.2)*** |
| Oral antidiabetics | 78 (11.3) | 52 (9.5) | 26 (17.8)** |
| Other | 316 (45.6) | 253 (46.3) | 63 (43.2) |
| European Society of Cardiology-Systematic COronary Risk Evaluation (points) | 2.7±1.9 | 2.4±2.0 | 3.1±1.7*** |
*P<0.05 compared with high-sensitivity cardiac troponin T ≤14 ng/L, **P<0.01, ***P<0.001.
Presentations: quantity of presentations to outpatient clinic, emergency department or hospital admissions during follow-up.