Emerging Biomarkers in Heart Failure and Cardiac Cachexia

Biomarkers are objective tools with an important role for diagnosis, prognosis and therapy optimization in patients with heart failure (HF). To date, natriuretic peptides are closest to optimal biomarker standards for clinical implications in HF. Therefore, the efforts to identify and test new biomarkers in HF are reasonable and justified. Along the natural history of HF, cardiac cachexia may develop, and once at this stage, patient performance and prognosis is particularly poor. For these reasons, numerous biomarkers reflecting hormonal, inflammatory and oxidative stress pathways have been investigated, but only a few convey relevant information. The complex pathophysiology of HF appears far too complex to be embraced by a single biomarker; thus, a combined approach appears reasonable. With these considerations, we have reviewed the recent developments in the field to highlight key candidates with diagnostic, prognostic and therapy optimization properties, either alone or in combination

Micronutrient Depletion in Heart Failure: Common, Clinically Relevant and Treatable

Heart failure (HF) is a chronic condition with many imbalances, including nutritional issues. Next to sarcopenia and cachexia which are clinically evident, micronutrient deficiency is also present in HF. It is involved in HF pathophysiology and has prognostic implications. In general, most widely known micronutrients are depleted in HF, which is associated with symptoms and adverse outcomes. Nutritional intake is important but is not the only factor reducing the micronutrient availability for bodily processes, because absorption, distribution, and patient comorbidity may play a major role. In this context, interventional studies with parenteral micronutrient supplementation provide evidence that normalization of micronutrients is associated with improvement in physical performance and quality of life. Outcome studies are underway and should be reported in the following years