miRNAs as biomarkers of myocardial infarction: a step forward towards personalized medicine?

•Circulating levels of cardiac-enriched miRNAs are increased after myocardial infarction (MI).•Circulating miRNAs do not outperform troponins for the diagnosis of MI.•Some miRNAs or panels of miRNAs have a promising prognostic value after MI.•An emerging concept is that miRNAs may be used for personalized medicine.

miRNAs are small noncoding RNAs known to post-transcriptionally regulate gene expression. miRNAs are expressed in the heart where they regulate multiple pathophysiological processes. The discovery of stable cardiac miRNAs in the bloodstream has also motivated the investigation of their potential as biomarkers. This review gathers the current knowledge on the use of miRNAs as novel biomarkers to improve risk stratification, diagnosis, and prognosis of patients with myocardial infarction. In the rapidly evolving era of biomarkers, the potential of miRNAs as promising tools to move personalized medicine a step forward is discussed.