Biomarkers of Cardiovascular Disorders

Abstract

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) has remained the leading cause of death worldwide despite the tremendous progress made in medical and surgical treatment for this disease. In the US, approximately 70 million persons have symptoms or findings (without symptoms) pertaining to coronary artery disease (CAD); of these patients, 10% have clinically confirmed disease. Not all of these patients have coronary artery disease, as some may have only angina pectoris but no demonstrable pathology in the coronary arteries. On the other hand, there are patients with coronary artery disease who may not have any investigations or require hospitalization. Sometimes it is postmortem finding in patients who die of other causes. The incidence is 1 million myocardial infarctions per year and 700,000 coronary-related deaths per year in the US. Nearly 8 million Americans alive today have suffered at least one heart attack and so are at greater risk for congestive heart failure (CHF) or another, potentially fatal, heart attack. Each year, of more than 1.2 million Americans who suffer heart attacks, about 400,000 develop CHF due to damage to the heart, and half of these die within 5 years. People who have had a heart attack have a sudden death rate that is 5–6 times greater than in the general population. Hypertension (HPN) affects about 70 million persons in the US with an overlap with those suffering from CAD.