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. Borderline stenosis of a left circumflex coronary artery found on first coronary angiogram was a coincidental finding and heterophile antibodies in the patient’s serum were confirmed. Discussion: This interesting case report aims to remind the clinicians about the possibility of false-positive troponin level due to laboratory analytical interference caused by heterophile antibodies. In this case, it is important to suspect false-positive troponin elevation, even when coronary artery disease is found. This rare and less mentioned and/or recognized cause of troponin elevation may lead to unnecessary invasive diagnostics and aggressive treatment of patients.

Antiplatelet therapy is an integral part of optimal medicamentous therapy in patients with coronary artery disease. The strategy of antiplatelet/anticoagulant therapy is adjusted (combination of drugs, dosing and duration of therapy) depending on t...

Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a debilitating disorder, and it is known that it can be triggered by acute coronary syndrome (ACS). Patients with ACS-induced PTSD have an increased risk of recurrent adverse cardiovascular events and mortality. This is still an insufficiently recognized subgroup of patients among clinicians that could benefit from specific therapeutic and rehabilitation approaches.

A 58-year-old healthy male, with no prior medical history, underwent a routine preventive medical examination. A 12-lead electrocardiogram (ECG) was obtained and is shown in the Figure 1. He is an active recreational athlete, engaging in table tennis approximately three times a week for 90 min each session. He reported no symptoms or limitations in his daily activities before and at the time of the examination. The patient has a moderate risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD), with a 3–4% SCORE2 risk on the chart for countries at high CVD risk. His body mass index is within the normal range at 22 kg/m², he is a non-smoker, and he has a negative family medical history regarding CVD.