Copeptin - Is there a role for another cardiac biomarker?

Abstract

The discovery and development of new biomarkers continues to be a promising field. Since cardiovascular disease remains the principal cause of death in the developed countries, this is the area in which novel biomarkers have been most extensively evaluated. Arginine vasopressin (AVP or antidiuretic hormone) is one of the key hormones in the human body involved in cardiovascular homeostasis. It has so far escaped introduction into the routine clinical laboratory due to technical difficulties and pre-analytical errors. Copeptin, the C-terminal part of the AVP precursor peptide, was found to be a stable and sensitive surrogate marker for AVP release. During the past years, copeptin measurement has been shown to be of interest in a variety of clinical indications, including cardiovascular diseases such as heart failure, myocardial infarction, and stroke. This review summarizes the recent progress in the diagnostic use of plasma copeptin in cardiovascular diseases.