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Updated: Apr 24, 2026
Author Spotlight: Assessing the Cardiovascular Profile of Patients with Metabolic Syndrome
Published on: September 27, 2024
Novel metabolic biomarkers of cardiovascular disease
Majken K Jensen1, Monica L Bertoia1, Leah E Cahill1
1Department of Nutrition, Harvard School of Public Health, 665 Huntington Avenue, 02115 Boston, MA, USA.
Insights
Emerging biomarkers like lipoproteins and glycaemic markers show promise for improving coronary heart disease (CHD) risk assessment beyond traditional factors. Further research may reveal new therapeutic targets for CHD prevention.
Area of Science:
- Cardiovascular Medicine
- Metabolic Research
- Biomarker Discovery
Background:
- Coronary heart disease (CHD) is a leading cause of death in the US, with established risk factors including hypertension, diabetes, smoking, and hypercholesterolemia.
- Statins have significantly advanced CHD prevention, but opportunities exist to refine risk stratification and identify novel therapeutic targets.
- Ongoing research explores metabolic molecules and features as potential new biomarkers for CHD.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review current scientific research on emerging metabolic biomarkers for CHD.
- To evaluate the evidence supporting these biomarkers in risk stratification and understanding CHD biology.
- To discuss their potential for identifying new treatment options.
Main Methods:
- Literature review of scientific research on metabolic biomarkers.
- Evaluation of the strength of evidence for biomarkers such as lipoproteins, homocysteine, calcium metabolism, and glycaemic markers.
- Assessment of biomarker associations with CHD and their potential clinical utility.
Main Results:
- The review summarizes research on various metabolic markers, including lipoproteins, homocysteine, calcium metabolism, and glycaemic markers.
- The strength of evidence for each emerging biomarker's association with CHD is evaluated.
- The potential of these markers to improve current risk stratification and inform new treatment strategies is discussed.
Conclusions:
- Emerging metabolic biomarkers offer potential for enhanced CHD risk stratification beyond traditional factors.
- These markers may deepen our understanding of CHD's underlying biology.
- Further research is needed to confirm their clinical utility and guide the development of new therapeutic targets for CHD.
Abstract:
Coronary heart disease (CHD) accounts for one in every six deaths in US individuals. Great advances have been made in identifying important risk factors for CHD, such as hypertension, diabetes mellitus, smoking and hypercholesterolaemia, which have led to major developments in therapy. In particular, statins represent one of the greatest successes in the prevention of CHD. While these standard risk factors are important, an obvious opportunity exists to take advantage of ongoing scientific research to better risk-stratify individuals and to identify new treatment targets. In this Review, we summarize ongoing scientific research in a number of metabolic molecules or features, including lipoproteins, homocysteine, calcium metabolism and glycaemic markers. We evaluate the current state of the research and the strength of evidence supporting each emerging biomarker. We also discuss whether the associations with CHD are strong and consistent enough to improve current risk stratification metrics, and whether these markers enhance our understanding of the underlying biology of CHD and thus point towards new treatment options.
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