Elevated serum high-sensitive cardiac troponin T in adolescent runner: exercise or something else?

It has been reported that prolonged strenuous exercise increases cardiac biomarkers probably due to transient strain, ischemia, inflammation, or metabolic causes. However, in emergency situation the possible increase of troponin serum concentrations in a young runner may lead to a suspicion of an acute myocardial damage. We report a case of elevated high-sensitive troponin T (hs-cTnT) in a half-marathon runner who had a transient loss of consciousness after a race associated with an increased serum levels of hscTnT without cardiac damage. Physicians must be able to interpret hs-cTnT serum concentrations using clinical expertise especially in an emergency situation.