Biomarkers in pulmonary hypertension

There have been significant recent advances in the understanding of the pathophysiology of pulmonary hypertension, and a growing number of therapeutic agents have become available to the treating physician. Traditional methods of diagnosing and monitoring this condition have comprised echocardiography and right heart catheterisation, in addition to functional measures, such as estimation of functional class and the 6-min walk test. An increasing number of biomarkers have been described that are elevated in pulmonary hypertension and which may assist the clinician in diagnosis and in the assessment of disease severity and response to treatment. The present article details the more important biomarkers, their potential applications and the evidence supporting their use.