Cardiovascular disease is the most common cause of death in patients with renal failure. Patients with renal failure are at greater risk of atypical presentations of myocardial ischaemia. Traditional markers of myocardial damage are often increased in renal failure in the absence of clinically suspect myocardial ischaemia. The cardiac troponins are specific markers of myocardial injury. The objectives of this study were to evaluate the specificity of cardiac troponine I in patients with chronic renal failure.