The cardiovascular continuum refined: A hypothesis.

In the light of recent advances in the understanding of cardiovascular disease processes, this article presents an update on the cardiovascular continuum and early intervention targets to prevent disease manifestation and potentially reverse disease progression. It addresses markers of disease progression (urinary albumin excretion, high-sensitivity C-reactive protein, natriuretic peptides, estimated glomerular filtration rate), manifestations of cardiovascular disease such as atrial fibrillation and heart failure with preserved ejection fraction, and future directions for therapeutic strategies with cardiovascular progression prediction tools. The combination of proteomic biomarkers with clinical phenotypes and genetic haplotype information may also aid prognosis of individual cardiovascular risk in a near future.