With the increase in the prevalence of cardiovascular diseases
internationally, particularly cardiac failure (CF) and atherosclerosis, the investigation
for new biological markers remains one of the main priorities. In contrast to
complicated diagnostic methods that might not be appropriate to be employed on a
larger population, biological markers are effective for the screening of the population.
Owing to their non-invasive detection with typically high accuracy and sensitivity,
circulating biomarkers have become increasingly significant for routine medical
practice. Cardiac troponins and natriuretic peptides (NPs), specifically brain NP (BNP),
mid-regional pro arterial NP, and N-terminal (NT) pro BNP, are validated blood
biological markers in the diagnosis of CF and prediction of CF-associated outcomes.
Inflammatory proteins like C-reactive protein can also have increased importance in
anti-inflammatory treatment guidance. Moreover, next-generation biological markers
like galectin-3, growth/differentiation factor 15, diverse miRNAs, and soluble
suppression of tumorigenicity-2 might have additional value in the analysis of
ventricular remodeling and differentiation of CF subtypes. In this chapter, we will first
discuss the biological markers as per the major categories of cardiovascular disease,
i.e., myocardial stress, inflammation, plaque instability, myocardial injury, systemic
stress, calcium homeostasis, and platelet activation. Lastly, we will describe the multimarker
methods, including various combinations of novel and established biomarkers
that may improve the risk prediction of CF at the population level.
Keywords: Acute cardiac infractions, Cardiovascular diseases (CVD), Cardiac
failure (CF), Congenital heart diseases (CHD), Natriuretic peptides (NPs).
