The prognostic value of copeptin in patients with acute chest pain

The prognostic value of copeptin in acute chest pain is an area of rapid growth and research interest. Copeptin has already established a role in early diagnosis and rule out of acute myocardial infarction, but as its use increases much of the attention has been directed at the prognostic value of copeptin. This article reviews the growing body of evidence supporting the use of copeptin to further risk-stratify chest pain patients. The studies included address a variety of populations ranging from all patients presenting with chest pain to those who are at high risk, diagnosed with acute coronary syndrome or found to have left ventricular dysfunction. Many of the studies compare and combine the prognostic value of copeptin with other prognostic markers such as troponin, brain natriuretic peptide and Global Registry of Acute Coronary Events scores. Caveats of copeptin are also discussed such as gender differences, cutoff points and the importance of timing in the copeptin assay.