Cardiac biomarker testing in the clinical laboratory: Where do we stand? General overview of the methodology with special emphasis on natriuretic peptides

• Diagnostic accuracy of HF by clinical means alone is often inadequate.
• A huge number of biomarkers have been proposed for the follow-up of HF patients.
• An overview is provided on biomarkers for diagnosis and risk stratification in HF.
• The first line HF biomarker, such as BNP, is discussed with special emphasis.

Diagnosis of heart failure (HF) is not based on a single test, but on a combination of history, physical examination and appropriate investigations. For these reasons, the accuracy of diagnosis by clinical means alone is often inadequate, especially in the early, asymptomatic stages of the HF. Thus, there is an increasing interest in the development of new cardiovascular biomarkers and, consequently, a great number of laboratory tests have recently been proposed for their assay. The aim of this article is to provide a general overview on the biomarkers, recommended by international guidelines, for the diagnosis, risk stratification, and follow-up of patients with HF. Cardiac natriuretic peptides and in particular the B-type related peptides, which are considered to be the first line biomarker for HF by international guidelines, will be discussed with special emphasis.