Troponin/Tropomycin

[EMT B]

So in Anatomy and Physiology today, we were talking about Troponin/Tropomycin and Calcium, and how Troponin C binds to Calcium ions.

So when muscle death occurs there is a release of Troponin (correct?). So if you have a patient that is having an MI, will you see elevated Calcium with your elevated Troponin levels? Will the elevated Calcium levels have any effect on the level of STE you see on the EKG?

 

[Ewok Jerky]

tropomyosin

So in Anatomy and Physiology today, we were talking about Troponin/Tropomycin and Calcium, and how Troponin C binds to Calcium ions.

So when muscle death occurs there is a release of Troponin (correct?). So if you have a patient that is having an MI, will you see elevated Calcium with your elevated Troponin levels? Will the elevated Calcium levels have any effect on the level of STE you see on the EKG?

extremely basic explanation:

thing of cells in the heart like a bag, a bag that contains things like troponin, CPK, and potassium (K+). when the heart gets hypoxic (as in am MI) some cells die and the bag ruptures, spilling out its contents like troponin, K+, and CPK. these contents usually have low plasma levels, so if they are elevated you can assume that there are heart cells dying.

EKG changes are more about the changing vectors of electrical discharge in an infarcting heart. think about the different leads, and which "direction" they are looking at...when muscle starts infarcting, depolarization doesn't occur there, so it almost acts like a window that you can "see" straight through on EKG, causes the EKG changes.

 

[fma08]

Here's a place to start with to do some digging and answer your questions.

http://www.nottingham.ac.uk/nursing/practice/resources/cardiology/acs/changes.php

Another to look at to start with and expand upon.

http://emedicine.medscape.com/article/155919-workup#aw2aab6b5b1aa

 

[medicsb]

Calcium, though extremely important in physiology is actually much less abundant than other cations in extracellular and intracellular spaces. So, death of myocardial will not noticeably change serum calcium, nor will change K+ or PO4- levels, both of which are far more abundant intracellularly. With massive muscle breakdown, such as that seen with sever rhabdo, you can see elevations in K+ and PO4-.