Biomarkers of Heart Failure in Pediatric Practice

Highlights In pediatrics, biomarkers of heart failure (HF) are particularly important for early detection and risk stratification of patients with systemic diseases and the associated risk of early development of HF. New biomarkers have certain prognostic advantages, but also some limitations, especially in pediatrics due to low specificity and insufficient data on long-term use. Thus, the prognostic value of these biomarkers has not been fully confirmed and requires further study for wide clinical use. Abstract Heart failure (HF) in children can develop for various reasons, which depend on the age of the patient. For example, during the neonatal period and at an early age, the main cause is congenital heart defects, cardiomyopathy and inflammatory heart diseases. In children, the use of biomarkers for the diagnosis of HF remained mostly “scientific” due to differences in the mechanism underlying cardiac dysfunction, as well as due to the difficulties of unification due to the influence of age on the levels of the markers studied. The aim of the study is to analyze the literature and systematize biomarkers in accordance with the pathophysiological mechanisms that contribute to the development of HF in children. The authors conducted a search for publications in the PubMed, Google Scholar and eLibrary databases. New biomarkers have certain prognostic advantages, but also some limitations, especially in pediatrics due to low specificity and insufficient data on long-term use. Thus, the prognostic value of these biomarkers has not been fully confirmed and requires further study for wide clinical use. Panels with multiple markers are becoming more promising, however, more clinical studies are needed to improve the understanding of biomarker-guided therapy for HF.