Heterophile antibodies, false-positive troponin, and acute coronary syndrome: a case report indicating a pitfall in clinical practice.

Background: Heterophile antibodies are one of the most common causes of false-positive troponin.

Case Summary: We report a case of a 53-year-old woman with false-positive troponin elevation and a clinical presentation understood and treated as non-ST-elevation acute coronary syndrome. Because of chronic basal elevation of troponin (at a 'plateau' level) and chest pain, the patient underwent several invasive coronary angiograms until false-positive increase of troponin due to heterophile antibodies was suspected.