Sun Y, et al. - In this retrospective analysis, researchers intended to determine if there is a connection between baseline cardiac troponin and acute myocardial infarction (AMI) in 1,072 consecutive patients admitted for acute ischemic stroke or transient ischemic attack who presented within 4.5 hours of last known well (LKW). Participants in the study were patients who had baseline cardiac troponin I (bcTnI) obtained within 72 hours from LKW (n = 525). Data reported that the median time from LKW to the bcTnI was 3.8 hours and 113 individuals had an elevated bcTnI. Findings suggested an independent association of time to bcTnI assessment with AMI after adjustment for pertinent confounders. When stratified by time, bcTnI evaluated within 4.5 hours had a sensitivity of 25% and specificity of 83.7% for AMI, on the other hand, bcTnI assessment between 4.5 and 72 hours was related to a sensitivity of 90.9% and specificity of 74.8%. An association was found between assessment of bcTnI after 4.5 hours from LKW and greater diagnostic accuracy compared with testing within 4.5 hours. Such knowledge can be used to advise clinical routine practice.