title: Current understanding of biochemical markers in heart failure.
abstract: Chronic heart failure (CHF) is a major cause of morbidity and mortality in industrialized countries. As societies are aging, efforts are directed toward early interventions to preserve quality of life as well as lower mortality. However, because of the paucity of specific symptoms, an early diagnosis and management of CHF might be challenging. In contrast, biochemical markers, which can be measured easily and without inter-observer variability, are now being carefully examined. Since CHF is a complex syndrome, a single biochemical marker cannot reflect its multiple manifestations. An ideal biochemical marker should 1) be a prognostic indicator, 2) reflect the therapeutic response, 3) be heart specific 4) be independent from other markers 5) reflect the pathophysiology of CHF, 6) assist in the early diagnosis of CHF, and 7) be reliable throughout the various phases of the syndrome, from before the onset of its clinical manifestations through its end-stage. This review summarizes our current understanding of biochemical markers of CHF based on its pathophysiology.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, Hyogo Prefectural Amagasaki Hospital, Amagasaki, Hyogo, Japan. cardioys@kuhp.kyoto-u.ac.jp
authors.forename: Yukihito
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Sato
authors.forename: Tadashi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Miyamoto
authors.forename: Ryoji
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Taniguchi
authors.forename: Yukiko
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Nishio
authors.forename: Toru
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kita
authors.forename: Hisayoshi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Fujiwara
authors.forename: Yoshiki
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Takatsu
mesh_terms: D015415:Biomarkers / Q000378:metabolism; D003094:Collagen / Q000378:metabolism; D006331:Heart Diseases / Q000097:blood* / Q000175:diagnosis; D006333:Heart Failure / Q000097:blood* / Q000175:diagnosis*; D006801:Humans; D020097:Natriuretic Peptide, Brain / Q000097:blood*; D015588:Observer Variation; D011379:Prognosis; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012306:Risk; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014336:Troponin / Q000096:biosynthesis
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; D014336:Troponin; D020097:Natriuretic Peptide, Brain; D003094:Collagen