ABSTRACT

Aim:

Not only the progressive increase in indications for percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA) attracts the attention, but also the myocardial damage that may develop after this technique. In this paper, the significance of cardiac markers in detecting myocardial damage following PTCA is discussed.

Methods:

47 randomly selected patients, who have undergone PTCA procedure for different reasons, had blood analysis of cTnI and CK-MB levels before and after the procedure between 6 and 12 hours. Chemiluminescent Enzyme Immunoassay method was applied for cTnI and kinetic immunoinhibition method was applied for CK-MB.

Results:

Significant increase was found in levels of cTnI (p<0.0001) and CK-MB (p<0.05) after PTCA. A meaningful increase was detected in levels of cTnI, when compared to CK-MB in percentage. When patients were subgrupped as SAP, USAP and post MI angina according to PTCA indications, no difference was found in the elevation of cTnI and CK-MB levels (p=0.69, p=0.43).

Conclusion:

Subclinical minor complications may occur during PTCA procedure, such as lateral branch occlusion, distal microembolism, transient vascular occlusion, etc. This may cause minor cardiac damage, which may lead to an increase in the levels of cardiac markers. Cardiac troponins, especially cTnI, are more sensitive than CK-MB for the diagnosis of cardiac damage.