Related Experiment Video
Updated: Nov 25, 2025
Coronary Progenitor Cells and Soluble Biomarkers in Cardiovascular Prognosis after Coronary Angioplasty
Published on: January 28, 2020
Biomarkers for Heart Failure Prognosis: Proteins, Genetic Scores and Non-coding RNAs
Apurva Shrivastava1,2, Tina Haase1,2, Tanja Zeller1,2
1Clinic for Cardiology, University Heart and Vascular Center, University Medical Center Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany.
Insights
Biomarkers like proteins, non-coding RNAs, and genetic risk scores aid in heart failure (HF) prognosis. However, their non-cardiac specificity challenges accurate risk prediction for HF patients.
Area of Science:
- Biomolecular markers
- Cardiovascular disease research
- Genomics and transcriptomics
Background:
- Heart failure (HF) involves cardiomyocyte injury, leading to inflammation and fibrosis, decreasing cardiac function.
- Biomolecules released during HF progression can be detected in body fluids, offering diagnostic and monitoring potential.
- Early detection and monitoring are crucial for managing HF and preventing further cardiac function decline.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review the current applications of protein, genetic, and non-coding RNA biomarkers in heart failure risk prognosis.
- To evaluate the potential and limitations of novel biomarker candidates for HF prognostication.
- To discuss the challenges in identifying cardiac-specific biomarkers for improved HF risk estimation.
Main Methods:
- Review of existing literature on protein, genetic, and non-coding RNA biomarkers in heart failure.
- Analysis of biomarker characteristics, including sensitivity, specificity, and clinical application in HF prognosis.
- Discussion of the emerging role of genetic risk scores and non-coding RNAs (microRNAs, long non-coding RNAs, circular RNAs) as HF biomarkers.
Main Results:
- Protein biomarkers are currently dominant, but non-coding RNAs and genetic risk scores show promise for HF prognostication.
- Many identified biomarkers lack cardiac specificity, potentially reflecting systemic inflammation rather than HF itself.
- The clinical value of novel biomarker candidates for accurately predicting HF prognosis remains under investigation.
Conclusions:
- Protein, genetic, and non-coding RNA biomarkers are being explored for heart failure risk prognosis.
- Challenges remain in biomarker specificity, necessitating further research to clarify their true value in HF prognostication.
- Future research should focus on developing cardiac-specific biomarkers to improve risk stratification and management of heart failure.
Abstract:
Heart failure (HF) is a complex disease in which cardiomyocyte injury leads to a cascade of inflammatory and fibrosis pathway activation, thereby causing decrease in cardiac function. As a result, several biomolecules are released which can be identified easily in circulating body fluids. The complex biological processes involved in the development and worsening of HF require an early treatment strategy to stop deterioration of cardiac function. Circulating biomarkers provide not only an ideal platform to detect subclinical changes, their clinical application also offers the opportunity to monitor disease treatment. Many of these biomarkers can be quantified with high sensitivity; allowing their clinical application to be evaluated beyond diagnostic purposes as potential tools for HF prognosis. Though the field of biomarkers is dominated by protein molecules, non-coding RNAs (microRNAs, long non-coding RNAs, and circular RNAs) are novel and promising biomarker candidates that encompass several ideal characteristics required in the biomarker field. The application of genetic biomarkers as genetic risk scores in disease prognosis, albeit in its infancy, holds promise to improve disease risk estimation. Despite the multitude of biomarkers that have been available and identified, the majority of novel biomarker candidates are not cardiac-specific, and instead may simply be a readout of systemic inflammation or other pathological processes. Thus, the true value of novel biomarker candidates in HF prognostication remains unclear. In this article, we discuss the current state of application of protein, genetic as well as non-coding RNA biomarkers in HF risk prognosis.
More Related Videos
05:16Cutoff Value of Phase Angle by Bioelectrical Impedance Analysis at Admission as a Prognostic Factor in Patients with Acute Heart Failure
Published on: June 10, 2025
04:41Digital PCR for Quantifying Circulating MicroRNAs in Acute Myocardial Infarction and Cardiovascular Disease
Published on: July 3, 2018
Related Concept Videos
01:19Blood Studies for Cardiovascular System II: CRP, Hcy, and Cardiac Natriuretic Peptide Markers
These markers indicate stress or strain on the heart muscle:
Natriuretic Peptides (BNP)
Cardiac myocytes produce these hormones in response to ventricular stretching...
01:20Blood Studies for Cardiovascular System I: Cardiac Biomarkers
The essential diagnostic tools for detecting myocardial necrosis and monitoring individuals suspected of having acute coronary syndrome (ACS) include:
Troponins
Troponins, particularly cardiac troponins I and T, are the most precise and sensitive markers of myocardial injury. They are detectable within 4-6 hours of myocardial injury and remain...
01:30Heart Failure IV: Classification and Diagnostic Evaluation
01:29Heart Failure II: Pathophysiology
01:17Pathophysiology of Heart Failure
01:22Heart Failure Drugs: β-Blockers