Title:Current Use of Cardiac Biomarkers in Various Heart Conditions
Volume: 21
Issue: 6
Author(s): Shahzad Khan*Sahibzada T. Rasool
Affiliation:
- Department of Pathophysiology, Wuhan University School of Medicine, Hubei, Wuhan 4300711,China
Keywords:
Biomarker, BNP, troponin, heart failure, myocardial infarction, cardiovascular disease.
Abstract: Biomarkers are increasingly recognized to have significant clinical value in early identification
and progression of various cardiovascular diseases. There are many heart conditions, such
as congestive heart failure (CHF), ischemic heart diseases (IHD), and diabetic cardiomyopathy (DCM),
and cardiac remodeling, in which the severity of the cardiac pathology can be mirrored
through these cardiac biomarkers. From the emergency department (ED) evaluation of acute coronary
syndromes (ACS) or suspected acute myocardial infarction (AMI) with cardiac marker Troponin
to the diagnosis of chronic conditions like Heart Failure (HF) with natriuretic peptides, like
B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP), N-terminal pro-B- type natriuretic peptide (Nt-proBNP) and mid
regional pro-atrial natriuretic peptide (MR- proANP), their use is continuously increasing. Their
clinical importance has led to the discovery of newer biomarkers, such as the soluble source of tumorigenicity
2 (sST2), galectin-3 (Gal-3), growth differentiation factor-15 (GDF-15), and various
micro ribonucleic acids (miRNAs). Since cardiac pathophysiology involves a complex interplay between
inflammatory, genetic, neurohormonal, and biochemical levels, these biomarkers could be
enzymes, hormones, and biologic substances showing cardiac injury, stress, and malfunction.
Therefore, multi-marker approaches with different combinations of novel cardiac biomarkers, and
continual assessment of cardiac biomarkers are likely to improve cardiac risk prediction, stratification,
and overall patient wellbeing. On the other hand, these biomarkers may reflect coexisting or
isolated disease processes in different organ systems other than the cardiovascular system. Therefore,
knowledge of cardiac biomarkers is imperative. In this article, we have reviewed the role of
cardiac biomarkers and their use in the diagnosis and prognosis of various cardiovascular diseases
from different investigations conducted in recent years.