The correlation between high-sensitivity troponin-T and cell-free cardiac DNA in the blood of patients undergoing noncardiac, predominantly vascular surgery.

Objective: To present a novel method that uses an epigenetic fingerprint to measure changes in plasma concentrations of cardiac-specific cell-free DNA (CS-cfDNA) as a marker of myocardial cell death.

Methods: This prospective, analytic, observational comparative study included patients with heart disease or multiple risk factors for heart disease undergoing major noncardiac, mostly vascular surgery, requiring an arterial-line, and at least 24 h hospitalization in the post anaesthesia care unit or critical care unit after surgery. Blood samples were collected at least four times per patient to measure troponin-T (via high-sensitivity troponin-T test) and CS-cfDNA pre- and postoperatively.