Evaluating the role of biomarkers for cardiovascular risk prediction: focus on CRP, BNP and urinary microalbumin.

Cardiovascular disease is a significant cause of morbidity and mortality, making cardiovascular prevention an important public health goal. The use of cardiac biomarkers represents a potential, noninvasive method to identify asymptomatic individuals who are most likely to develop cardiovascular disease. Several known biomarkers predict cardiovascular risk above and beyond conventional risk factors. Nonetheless, available evidence suggests that current biomarkers do not have sufficient sensitivity or specificity to justify widespread use for cardiovascular risk prediction. New developments in molecular biology and genetics may allow the identification of additional biomarkers, likely acting via different pathways, to achieve this goal.