Heart failure biomarkers at point-of-care: current utilization and future potential

Heart failure (HF) is a prevalent disease that is associated with a high morbidity and mortality; HF is estimated to cost the US healthcare system over US$39 billion annually. Biomarkers have an increasingly important role in achieving management goals through rapid diagnosis and monitoring of disease processes. HF is a target for healthcare cost control measures and quality improvement metrics. In achieving these benchmarks, point-of-care testing, the development of more sensitive assays for traditional biomarkers and determining appropriate applications for novel markers will be essential in meeting these health quality and cost-driven metrics. Point-of-care applications involving biomarkers can be utilized in inpatient, outpatient and emergency department settings to aid in the rapid diagnosis, risk stratification and management of patients presenting with symptoms consistent with HF. In this paper we review current and promising HF biomarkers with an emphasis on point-of-care testing and its implications in the changing healthcare landscape.