Cardiac Biomarkers in Sports Cardiology

Abstract

Sustained physical activity induces morphological and functional changes in the cardiovascular system. While mostly physiological, they can also become a trigger for major adverse cardiovascular events, the most severe of which are sudden cardiac arrest and sudden cardiac death. Therefore, any novel method which can help more accurately estimate the cardiovascular risk should be considered for further studying and future implementation in the standard protocols. The study of biomarkers is gaining more and more ground as they have already established their utility in diagnosing ischemic cardiac disease or in evaluating cardiac dysfunction in patients with heart failure. Nowadays, they are being implemented in the screening of apparently healthy individuals for the assessment of the cardiovascular risk. The aim of this paper is to gather published data regarding the measurements of cardiac biomarkers in athletes, i.e., troponins, myoglobin, CK-MB, NT-proBNP, and D-Dimers, and their potential use in the field of sports cardiology.

Global research trends on cardiac troponin and physical activity among pediatric populations: a bibliometric analysis and science mapping study

“…The growth trend in scientific production on cardiac troponin in young people shows that it has not yet reached a stage of maturity, and it could continue to grow in the coming years. In addition, numerous studies suggest that it is necessary to continue conducting research in this area, to establish standardized protocols and to perform more studies with larger populations (53)(54)(55).…”

High-Sensitivity Cardiac Troponin Publications during the COVID-19 Pandemic (2020–2022)

“…Importantly, levels of hs-cTn greater than 200 times the upper reference limit within one day after cardiac surgery are prognostic, which is a much higher level than what is stated in the universal definition of myocardial infarction [ 20 , 21 ]. In fact, the utility of hs-cTn extends beyond these settings with possible important roles in cancer therapy related cardiotoxicity, in heart failure and other supply-demand mismatch situations [ 22 , 23 , 24 , 25 ].…”