Modality of brain death and serum troponin T levels in donors and their heart transplant recipients.

Cardiac troponin T levels and inotropic requirements were assessed in the sera of 39 heart donors immediately before heart harvesting and, in their recipients, during the first two days after transplantation. In the donors who died of cranial trauma (n=21), serum troponin T levels as well as inotropic support were lower (P<0.05 and P<0.025, respectively) than in the donors (n= 18) in whom death was caused by spontaneous intracranial haemorrhage. In the recipients, no differences in troponin T or inotropic support levels were found in relation to the modality of their donors' brain death.