Current Use of Cardiac Biomarkers in Various Heart Conditions

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.