AEMCA Practice Exam

What protein is commonly found in serum levels after a myocardial infarction?

1. Albumin

2. Troponin T and I

3. Hemoglobin

4. Creatinine

The correct answer is: Troponin T and I

After a myocardial infarction (heart attack), specific biomarkers are released into the bloodstream that indicate damage to the heart muscle. Troponin T and I are proteins that play a critical role in muscle contraction and are specific to cardiac muscle. When heart tissue is injured, these proteins leak into the serum, making them reliable indicators for diagnosing myocardial infarction. The presence of elevated troponin levels in the serum is a key diagnostic criterion for myocardial infarction. It is important to note that these proteins remain elevated for an extended period after the event, providing a window of time for diagnosis. This sensitivity and specificity to cardiac damage make troponin T and I the preferred biomarkers in clinical practice for detecting heart attacks. Other proteins mentioned, such as albumin, hemoglobin, and creatinine, do not specifically indicate cardiac injury and are not used in the same way to diagnose a myocardial infarction. Albumin is primarily associated with liver function and nutritional status, hemoglobin relates to oxygen transport in the blood, and creatinine is a marker for kidney function. While elevated levels of these proteins might occur in various medical conditions, they do not serve as reliable indicators of myocardial injury like troponins do.