What is Troponin?
Ans. Troponin is a complex protein found in the heart muscles and it is involved in muscle contraction.
- It is only found in the heart muscles.
- Its presence in the blood is very low.
- It can not be detected in normal blood tests due to low quantity.
- It can be detected through very specific tests such as the troponin test.
- Troponin test is used to confirm whether the person is going to have a heart attack or not.
- It is also done before and after some surgeries.
- It is also used to find out the angina pain.
- Angina pain is caused by the blockage of blood supply to the heart muscles.
- Angina is also an emergency condition.
- High levels of troponin indicate damaged heart muscles.
- Damaged heart muscles leak troponin in the blood, which is detected through a troponin test.
- Stress and anxiety do not cause high levels of troponin in the blood.
What Anxiety Does
Anxiety disorder activates the fight-or-flight mechanism in the body which causes some physical changes in the body to prepare for a danger. Physical changes may include:
- Increased heart rate
- Shortness of breath
- Heaviness in the chest
- Sweating
- Trembling
- Dizziness
All these above symptoms are related to the chest area. So, make people believe that this is an indication of a heart attack. But, these are just symptoms of ongoing anxiety which can be settled by self or after taking the medicines for anxiety.
Moreover, anxiety never increases the troponin amount in the blood. Because troponin is limited to heart muscles it can only come to the bloodstream in the case of serious heart attack or issues.
What is the meaning of increased troponin levels and causes?
Elevated troponin level indicates a heart attack. Troponin in blood means the damage of a heart muscle due to a heart attack.
A heart attack occurs due to insufficient or blockage of blood supply to the heart muscle. This condition is called myocardial ischemia. During a heart attack, heart muscles are injured, and troponin is released into the bloodstream. This elevated troponin level can be detected by a troponin test.
However, troponin levels can also be elevated in other cardiac conditions, such as unstable angina, myocarditis, or heart muscle damage due to non-cardiac causes.
So, a proper evaluation by a specialist with clinical diagnosis and tests will clear the picture and explore the proper cause of elevated troponin.
For more clarity, also go through the following
- Troponin levels provide important information about heart health and cardiac-related pathology.
- In some severe COVID-19 cases, leakage of troponin was observed
- There are different types of parameters in the troponin test which determine the exact situation.
- After a heart attack troponin starts rising within a few hours and achieves a peak between 12 to 48 hours.
- Kidneys flush the troponin out of the body.
- High blood pressure does not increase the troponin.
- Some intense exercise could mildly increase troponin but it is temporary and different from increase during heart attacks.
Note: Healthcare specialist consultation is important in this subject.
Conclusion
Elevated troponin levels cannot be caused by anxiety. Only serious heart conditions like a heart attack or myocardial ischemia can elevate the troponin levels. However, sometimes anxiety causes some symptoms