Aortic stiffness as a predictor of high-sensitivity cardiac troponin T levels at a chronic stage after ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction

Background Aortic stiffness is associated with early pulse wave reflection resulting in an increase of cardiac afterload and impairment of coronary perfusion. Experimental data show that high left ventricular pressure due to increased aortic stiffness is associated with enhanced myocardial cell death. We investigated whether aortic stiffness is related to high-sensitivity cardiac troponin T (hs-TnT) concentrations at a chronic stage 1 year after ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI).