CAP Pro Course - Chemistry - Cardiac Biomarkers

Author: Lynne Brodeur, MA, MLS(ASCP)^CM
Reviewer: DeRhonda Crawford, MT(ASCP)

Continuing Education Credits

P.A.C.E.® Contact Hours: 1 hour(s)
Florida Board of Clinical Laboratory Science CE Credit Hours -
General (Clinical Chemistry/UA/Toxicology): 1 hour(s)

Objectives

List common tests used to assess acute cardiovascular injury in the acute care setting.
Compare and contrast troponin with high-sensitivity troponin (hsTn) assays.
Describe the current role of creatine kinase (CK) and creatine kinase MB isoform (CK-MB) testing in acute cardiovascular disease.
State the clinical significance of brain natriuretic peptide (BNP) and N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) measurement and discuss the differences between these two analytes.
Discuss the role of BNP and hsTn as cardiovascular risk markers rather than their established role as markers of myocardial infarction.
Explain how cardiac biomarkers are used in critical care diagnosis, risk stratification, and therapy monitoring.
Discuss the preanalytic, analytic, and postanalytic requirements for meeting quality standards for cardiac biomarker testing.

Course Outline

List common tests used to assess acute cardiovascular injury in the acute care setting.

Cardiac Biomarkers
Cardiac Biomarkers, continued
Congestive Heart Failure
Jennifer is a 57-year-old grandmother who is very active. Jennifer recently attended an aerobics class held at her local gym. Upon finishing the class...
In which disease is troponin not very useful for diagnosis?
Dr. Smith is a physician that has been in practice for over 50 years. He is mentoring a medical student. Upon making rounds in the cardiac ward, Dr. S...

Compare and contrast troponin with high-sensitivity troponin (hsTn) assays.

Troponin
Troponin, continued
Troponin Assay Performance
High-sensitivity Troponin (hsTn)
Why is a troponin test considered a critical test?
With the development of high-sensitivity troponin (hsTn) assays, there have been many implications for patient care. Which one of the following statem...
A patient arrives at his general practitioner's office suspecting he is having a heart attack. The physician's assistant at the office immediately beg...

Describe the current role of creatine kinase (CK) and creatine kinase MB isoform (CK-MB) testing in acute cardiovascular disease.

Creatine Kinase-MB
Creatine Kinase-MB, continued
You are teaching an MLS student from a local college how to run an instrument in your lab that uses spectrophotometry as a methodology. The student no...
Which one of the following statements is true?

State the clinical significance of brain natriuretic peptide (BNP) and N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) measurement and discuss the differences between these two analytes.

BNP and NT-proBNP
BNP versus NT-proBNP
Using Natriuretic Peptide Measurements
Your laboratory recently changed its brain natriuretic peptide (BNP) assay to the NT-proBNP assay. What should you tell the clinicians about this new ...
A patient enters the ER with a history of high blood pressure and diabetes. The physician orders a brain natriuretic peptide (BNP) and proceeds to loo...
You are the new supervisor of the chemistry laboratory at a local hospital with a large congestive heart failure (CHF) population. You are possibly lo...

Discuss the role of BNP and hsTn as cardiovascular risk markers rather than their established role as markers of myocardial infarction.

Risk Markers
hsTn as a Risk Marker
BNP and NT-proBNP as Risk Markers
Which of the following tests are not considered cardiovascular risk markers?
John has his blood drawn for total cholesterol, LDL, and HDL at his annual physical. His physician tells him he wants to get a cardiovascular risk sco...
Dr. Smith orders a BNP or NT-proBNP on all patients who have had a cardiovascular event. Which of the following is not a clinical utility of ordering ...

Explain how cardiac biomarkers are used in critical care diagnosis, risk stratification, and therapy monitoring.

Atherosclerosis and Progression to Acute Myocardial Infarction (AMI)
Differential Diagnosis of Acute Myocardial Infarction (AMI)
A 55-year-old male presents to the emergency department (ED) complaining of chest pain radiating through his arms and back, nausea, and shortness of b...
A 55-year-old male presents to the emergency department (ED) complaining of chest pain radiating through his arms and back, nausea, and shortness of b...

Discuss the preanalytic, analytic, and postanalytic requirements for meeting quality standards for cardiac biomarker testing.

Quality Standards of Cardiac Marker Testing
Critical Care Reporting of Results
The laboratory at XYZ hospital uses a cartridge-based system for troponin tests that come from the emergency department (ED). The cartridges can be st...
Why is it important to establish a short turnaround time for cardiac troponin testing?

References

References

Additional Information

Level of Instruction: Intermediate

Intended Audience: This program is designed as an educational and training tool for MLS, MT, and MLT personnel, medical laboratory science students and interns, pathology residents, and practicing pathologists.

Author: Lynne Brodeur, MA, MLS(ASCP)^CM holds a master of arts degree in teaching. She is currently a full time lecturer at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth and works per diem in Clinical Chemistry at St. Luke's Hospital in New Bedford, MA.

Reviewer Information: DeRhonda Crawford, MT(ASCP) is the chemistry supervisor at Gwinnett Medical Center in Lawrenceville, Georgia and the technical supervisor for the Gwinnett Medical Center in Duluth, Georgia. She holds a BS in Medical Technology from the Medical College of Georgia.

This course is part of the CAP Competency Assessment Hub.

See other included Pro courses

See other included instrument checklists