What causes elevated troponin levels in a 28 year old female?

It sounds like you pretty ill, but it also sounds like it was unclear what the problem was. There are a variety of reasons other than an acute myocardial infarction that can show a positive Trop I. Here's a short list:

1. Acute Pericarditis

2. Acute Pulmonary Embolism

3. Acute Heart Failure

4. Myocarditis

5. Septic or critically ill patients

6. Renal Failure

7. False positive due to heterophilic antibodies, rheumatoid factor, fibrin clots, microparticles, and malfunction of the analyzer itself.

If I were guessing, I might think it were numbers 5 or 6 - but honestly it would only be a guess. It is unlikely that you had a coronary event but I hope that your doctors were considering some of the other things on that list and were doing tests to evaluate for them.

Go to the stress test, but it is unlikely that it will be positive. If anything, its more likely that your heart was an innocent by-stander to a very ill body. I hope this helps and I hope you are feeling well soon. Good luck.

Normally, troponin levels are very low; even slight elevations can indicate some degree of damage to the heart. When the patient has significantly elevated troponin concentrations and other clinical signs, such as an abnormal ECG (electrocardiogram – an evaluation of the rhythm of the heart), then it is likely the patient has had a heart attack. If CK, CK-MB, and myoglobin concentrations are normal but troponin levels are increased, then it is likely that either a lesser degree of heart injury is present or that the injury took place more than 24 hours in the past. If the first troponin performed is normal but subsequent (6 hour and 12 hour samples) troponin tests are increased, then the heart injury likely occurred within a couple of hours prior to the first test and had not had time to increase.

(This information from the website sourced below...check it out for a lot more information)

if your troponin levels are this high, it means heart damage has occured in recent periods. Ttroponin is more specific indicator of heart damage than CK isoenzymes. Troponin can be elevated for as much as 7 days. so someting is going with ur heart, that's for sure. ur fainted. vomited, u had abdominal pain. abnormal EKG, high troponin level are all indicative of an MI ( heart attack).

It does not matter if ur 28 yrs old or 60 yrs old, heart attack can happen to anybody. One of my friend who was 25 yrs old when he had 1st massive MI. He is fine now, he survived from tht attack.

The reason a young man/woman can have an MI is genetics. My friend had family histroy of heart attack, tht's why he suffered from an MI in so early age.

So do u have any family hx of heart disease?

Raised troponin for a 28 year old is possible. it really depends on what kind of troponin test did your doctor do. I am just wondering if it is Troponin I or T. It is also possible to have an elevated troponin level if you have a degree of ischemia in you heart. I assume that is what u meant when ur ekg is abnormal. It is possible to have a troponin rise if you have ischemia in your heart. To tell you honestly ischemia in medical terms does not mean a heart attack.

Abdominal pain, vomiting, feeling faint, blood pressure and pulse abnormalities, and elevated troponin levels are all classic signs of a heart attack. Troponin is a cardiac specific enzyme. If it is elevated, it usually means that something's going on with your heart. Your stress test may turn out abnormal. So, be prepared. Your doc may want you to have a cardiac cath if this is the case.

Causes Of Raised Troponin