The rise and fall of troponin in a patient with polymyositis

Abstract

Troponins are an excellent sensitive marker for myocardial ischaemic damage. However, there are several non-ischaemic cardiac and non-cardiac reasons for troponin elevation. Many cases of troponin T elevation and some troponin I cases have been reported in the literature due to inflammatory muscle disease. Here, we report a woman in her 50s who initially presents with fatigue and weakness, and is found to have elevated troponin T. The patient was appropriately worked up for cardiac causes with ECG and echocardiogram. She had positive antinuclear antibodies, antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody and myositis panel. The elevation of troponins was attributed to polymyositis and treated with methotrexate and prednisone with recovery of patient’s symptoms. This article emphasises the struggle of diagnosis in a patient with no reported medical history, having low to moderate risk of silent myocardial infarction.