Background We aimed to assess the associations between cardiac troponin (cTn) T and I concentrations, physical exercise and the presence and severity of angiographic coronary artery disease (CAD) in patients evaluated for suspected chronic coronary syndrome (CCS). Methods and results All patients performed an exercise stress test on a bicycle ergometer and underwent invasive coronary angiography with weighted anatomical evaluation using the Gensini score. Blood samples were collected before and after exercise and analysed with high-sensitivity (hs) cTnT and cTnI assays. Of 297 patients (median age 62 (Quartile [Q]1-3 56-69) years, 35% female), 46% were categorized as "severe CAD" (Gensini score ≥20). Resting hs-cTnT and hs-cTnI concentrations were detectable in 88% and 100% of patients, with medians of 6 (Q1-3 4-9) ng/L and 1.5 (0.9-2.4) ng/L, respectively. In adjusted normalized linear regression analyses, higher resting concentrations were associated with increasing Gensini score (hs-cTnT: B 0.19, 95% Confidence Interval [CI]