High-Sensitivity Cardiac Troponin Assays: From Implementation to Resource Utilization and Cost Effectiveness

Cardiac troponin is the gold-standard biomarker for the evaluation of patients with suspected acute myocardial infarction (MI). Improvements in assay technology have led to high-sensitivity cardiac troponin assays that, when incorporated into accelerated diagnostic pathways, may rapidly diagnose or exclude acute MI more efficiently than conventional troponin assays. In this narrative review, we provide practical suggestions for implementing high-sensitivity cardiac troponin assays, review accelerated diagnostic pathways incorporating these assays, and review the impact of these assays on resource utilization and cost-effectiveness in relation to the evaluation of individuals with possible acute MI. An increasing number of hospitals are transitioning to high-sensitivity cardiac troponin assays. This narrative review provides an overview of the potential benefits of this transition.