Can the test be false positive?

When reviewing troponin test results, care should always be taken to consider all causes of elevation. If there are no symptoms and no abnormalities in the ECG, the probability of a heart attack is rather low, even if the troponin level is elevated. Now the other diagnoses should be checked, which also fall into the group of troponin elevating diseases.

An isolated increase in troponin T (if measured) can also be attributed to skeletal muscle disease, whereas troponin I is only elevated in the presence of actual heart disease or cardiac printer’s disease (e.g. hypertension). Highly sensitive measurement procedures can reduce the number of false positive results with regard to myocardial infarction diagnostics. While a slightly elevated troponin value does not always have an acute disease value, but can also be due to chronic disease, a suddenly strongly elevated troponin value always requires clarification and must be treated as an emergency until proven otherwise.

What do I do with a positive test result?

A positive test result should normally be received in the presence of a physician. Both in the case of a rapid test at the family doctor, as well as testing after hospitalization, continuous medical care must be guaranteed. After a positive test result, if not already done, further diagnostics must be performed and the cause of the increase must be found out as soon as possible. If the test should be performed and evaluated alone at home or not in the presence of medical personnel, a hospital should be visited immediately in case of a positive result.

How long does it take to get the test result?

If a troponin rapid test is used, the result can be read approximately 10 minutes after the blood has been dropped. This does not take into account the duration of the blood collection. If whole blood is sent to a laboratory for troponin testing, the time between collection and evaluation is naturally longer. It is possible to perform a rapid test in case of suspected acute clinical picture and additionally send a sample to a qualified laboratory.