Uses of Cardiac Biomarkers

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Uses of Cardiac Biomarkers

Cardiac markers are measured for diagnosis and monitoring of cardiac disease, most often for diagnosis and monitoring of acute myocardial infarction (AMI). They are also used to diagnose CHF. Cardiac markers can also give information on the risk of future cardiac disease and assist in predicting the response of heart disease to treatments.
Cardiac markers are especially helpful in situations of a suspected AMI in which the patient's electrocardiogram (ECG) does not present the typical pattern associated with an AMI.
We previously discussed lipids and lipoproteins. While these analytes do have high value in assessing the risk of future cardiac disease, they are not considered cardiac biomarkers per se. This is because they aren't produced by the heart and don't directly reflect the status of the heart, rather they simply provide a measurement of future risk of atherosclerosis.