Utility of serial conventional troponin testing for emergency department patients stratified by HEART score and symptom timing.

Background: The HEART score for risk stratifying chest pain patients in the emergency department (ED) has been widely adopted in clinical practice, but is often employed with nonconformant serial troponin measurements.

Objective: The primary objective of this study was to examine the utility of obtaining a second conventional 3-h troponin I (TnI) level in ED patients presenting with potential acute coronary syndrome (ACS), stratified by HEART score and duration of symptoms.

Methods: This was a retrospective cohort study of consecutive adult ED patients with a complete HEART score.