Biomarkers of cardiovascular disease risk in women

Cardiovascular disease (CVD), including coronary heart disease and stroke, is the leading cause of death among U.S. women and men. Established cardiovascular risk factors such as smoking, diabetes, hypertension, and elevated total cholesterol, and risk prediction models based on such factors, perform well but do not perfectly predict future risk of CVD. Thus, there has been much recent interest among cardiovascular researchers in identifying novel biomarkers to aid in risk prediction. Such markers include alternative lipids, B-type natriuretic peptides, high-sensitivity troponin, coronary artery calcium, and genetic markers. This article reviews the role of traditional cardiovascular risk factors, risk prediction tools, and selected novel biomarkers and other exposures in predicting risk of developing CVD in women. The predictive role of novel cardiovascular biomarkers for women in primary prevention settings requires additional study, as does the diagnostic and prognostic utility of cardiac troponins for acute coronary syndromes in clinical settings. Sex differences in the clinical expression and physiology of metabolic syndrome may have implications for cardiovascular outcomes. Consideration of exposures that are unique to, or more prevalent in, women may also help to refine cardiovascular risk estimates in this group.