ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Nephrol.
Sec. Clinical Research in Nephrology
Effect of Hemodialysis on High-Sensitivity Cardiac Troponin T Levels in Patients with Hypervolemia
Provisionally accepted
- 1Indiana University School of Medicine Northwest-Gary, Gary, United States
- 2Saint Louis University, St. Louis, United States
Select one of your emails
You have multiple emails registered with Frontiers:
Notify me on publication
Please enter your email address:
If you already have an account, please login
You don't have a Frontiers account ? You can register here
Background: High-sensitivity cardiac troponin T (hs-cTnT) is widely used in the diagnosis of acute coronary syndrome (ACS) because it is a marker of myocardial damage. Most patients with end-stage kidney disease (ESKD) on renal replacement therapy have elevated plasma hs-cTnT levels at baseline. The impact of hemodialysis (HD) on hs-cTnT levels remains unclear. This study aimed to determine the effect of HD in patients with ESKD and hypervolemia on plasma hs-cTnT levels. Methods: We conducted a retrospective study of ESKD patients admitted to two community hospitals over a three-year period (from January 1, 2020, to December 31, 2022). All patients had hypervolemia on admission. Plasma hs-cTnT levels were measured at admission and repeated 5.5 ± 0.75 hours after HD. Over the study period, 20 patients with ESKD and hypervolemia fulfilled the inclusion criteria. Two patients were diagnosed with ACS. Results: Pre-HD and post-HD hs-cTnT were elevated in 85% of patients. The data did not follow normal distribution. The median and interquartile range (IRQ) for pre-HD hs-cTnT was 126 (154) ng/L, and for post-HD hs-cTnT was 155 (234) ng/L. Following a single HD session with a high-flux dialyzer, hs-cTnT levels increased in 80% of the cohort, with a mean rise of 25.6% (p = 0.0042). Mean volume removal was 2.4 L, range (1-5 L). Two patients were diagnosed with ACS. Mortality over the study period was 40%, with cardiovascular disease as the leading cause of death. Conclusion: In ESKD patients with hypervolemia, a single HD session using a high-flux dialyzer significantly increased hs-cTnT plasma level. Pre-dialysis hs-cTnT measurements should be used as a clinical baseline when evaluating for ACS, and post-dialysis elevations should be interpreted with caution. Serial measurements may improve diagnostic accuracy. Further prospective studies are needed to clarify the mechanisms and clinical implications of these findings.
Keywords: Acute Coronary Syndrome, cardiac troponins, end-stage kidney disease, hemodialysis, Hypervolemia
Received: 02 Oct 2025; Accepted: 04 Dec 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Tinawi and Bastani. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Mohammad Tinawi
Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.