Cardiac biomarkers in clinical practice of dog and cat - a review

A biomarker is an indicator of a normal or pathologic process, or a pharmacologic response to a therapeutic intervention. Nowadays, in veteriary cardiology, the most used biomarkers for assessing the pathological status of the cardio-vascular system, are B-type natriuretic peptide and cardiac troponins. These biomarkers have been very well studied in cardiac pathology in order to assess their diagnostic potential. The aim of the present paper was to discuss the structure, metabolism, function, applicability, reference values and variations in different diseases and to review some practical aspects of the two cardiac biomarkers, used nowadays in small animal cardiology.