In the four pages committed to a discussion of myocardial infarction in the first edition of Harrison's Principles of Internal Medicine, published in 1950, there was no mention of use of the laboratory for management of patients. Thirty years later, when the first edition of Braunwald's Heart Disease, A Textbook of Cardiovascular Medicine was published, 2 out of the 1943 pages in the text contained a discussion of the laboratory examinations in acute myocardial infarction. Our knowledge base of the multitude of ways that physicians can and should use the clinical chemistry laboratory has expanded dramatically since these classic texts were published. The nomenclature has changed: terms such as "cardiac enzymes" have given way to "cardiac biomarkers. " The number of assays has multiplied, and the operating characteristics of available assays are impr- ing at a gratifying but dizzying rate. We now use biomarkers to diagnose cardiovascular diseases and also to frame our treatment strategies. Thus, there is a clear need for a scholarly compilation of the state of the art of cardiac biomarkers. Dr. David Morrow has expertly edited an authoritative book that answers this need. The 34 chapters in Cardiovascular Biomarkers: Pathophysiology and Disease Mana- ment were written by a group of individuals who are internationally recognized thought leaders and experts in clinical and laboratory medicine.

Part I. Biomarkers of Necrosis Biomarkers of Myocardial Necrosis: Past, Present, and Future Robert H. Christenson and Hassan M. E. Azzazy Analytical Issues for the Clinical Use of Cardiac Troponin Alan H. B. Wu Defining Myocardial Infarction Allan S. Jaffe and Luciano Babuin Biomarkers in the Emergency Department: Rapid Diagnosis and Triage Jin H. Han and W. Brian Gibler Cardiac Troponin for Risk Assessment and Management of Non-ST-Elevation Acute Coronary Syndrome Bertil Lindahl Biomarkers of Necrosis for Risk Assessment and Management of ST-Elevation Myocardial Infarction Evangelos Giannitsis and Hugo A. Katus Cardiac Troponin After Revascularization Procedures Warren J. Cantor and L. Kristin Newby Biomarkers of Necrosis in Heart Failure: Past, Present, and Future Directions Emil Missov, James Rider, and Leslie Miller Is There a Role for Cardiac Troponin and Other Biomarkers in Patients With Pulmonary Embolism? Samuel Z. Goldhaber Cardiac Troponin in Conditions Other Than Acute Coronary Syndromes Fred S. Apple and David A. Morrow Degradation of Cardiac Troponins: Implications for Clinical Practice Allan S. Jaffe and Jennifer E. Van Eyk Part II. Biomarkers of Ischemia Developing a Marker of Ischemia: Clinical and Research Challenges Robert L. Jesse Emerging Biomarkers of Myocardial Ischemia Jesse E. Adams Part III. Biomarkers of Inflammation Inflammation in Cardiovascular Disease: The Biological Basis of Inflammatory Biomarkers Peter Libby Analytic Issues for the Clinical Use of C-Reactive Protein Nader Rifai C-Reactive Protein as a Tool for Risk Assessment in Primary Prevention Shari S. Bassuk and Paul M Ridker High-Sensitivity C-Reactive Protein for Risk Assessment in Acute Coronary Syndromes Luigi M. Biasucci and Antonio Abbate Beyond C-Reactive Protein: Novel Markers of Vascular Inflammation Christopher Heeschen Biomarkers of Inflammation: Implications in Patients With Heart Failure Biykem Bozkurt Biomarkers of Infection and Risk of Coronary Heart Disease Joseph B. Muhlestein Part IV. Biomarkers of Hemodynamic Stress Biology of the Natriuretic Peptides Charlotte Kragelund and Torbjorn Omland Analytic Issues for the Clinical Use of B-Type Natriuretic Peptide and N-Terminal Pro B-Type Natriuretic Peptide Johannes Mair Clinical Use of Natriuretic Peptides for the Diagnosis and Management of Heart Failure Alan Maisel Natriuretic Peptides in Acute and Chronic Coronary Artery Disease Shuaib M. Abdullah and James A. de Lemos Novel Markers of Hemodynamic Stress Ellen O. Weinberg and Richard T. Lee Part V. Biomarkers of Platelet Function and Hemostasis Clinical and Research Applications of Markers of Thrombosis Manesh R. Patel and Richard C. Becker Measures of Platelet Activation and Aggregation Jean-Philippe Collet and Gilles Montalescot Monocyte-Platelet Aggregates in Patients With Ischemic Heart Disease Matthew D. Linden and Mark I. Furman Part VI. Biomarkers of Dyslipidemia and Lipid Modification Measurement of Atherogenic Lipoproteins in Cardiovascular Risk Assessment Richard L. Dunbar and Daniel J. Rader Lipoprotein-Associated Phospholipase A2 and Other Lipid-Related Biomarkers in Cardiovascular Disease Natalie Khuseyinova and Wolfgang Koenig Part VII. Contemporary and Future ...

Overview of the Major Classes of Biomarkers>