Cardiac Biomarkers

Alan S. Maisel is a Professor of Medicine at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD). He is the Director of the Coronary Care Unit and Heart Failure Program at the VA San Diego Healthcare System in La Jolla, California. Dr. Maisel is active on the faculty at UCSD where he has won numerous teaching awards. Dr Maisel is considered one of the world’s experts on cardiac biomarkers and has over 300 scientific publications. He has authored several ground-breaking publications that have paved the way for development of diagnostic tools for patients with congestive heart failure. In particular, he was the leading investigator on studies that brought the use of BNP into clinical practice. Dr Maisel is also a writer of medical fiction. His first novel, Bedside Manners was optioned to Warner Brothers. His second novel, Brain Chicane, is about a young and idealistic physician working at the premier multiple-organ transplant hospital in Chicago where he investigates overdose cases that are not totally kosher. Allan Jaffe is Professor of Medicine and Professor of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology and Chair of the Division of Core Clinical Laboratory Services at Mayo. He continues as an active clinician in the CCU. Dr. Jaffe has national and international repute for his work in cardiac biomarkers and co-ordinates the Biochemistry group of the taskforce for the Universal Definition of AMI. He is on the editor boards of most of the major cardiology journals and the most prestigious laboratory medicine one (Clinical Chemistry) as well. He has over 500 publications, mostly in the field of biomarkers and cardiac troponin.

• The patient with chest pain: The troponin story.- Troponin Basics for the clinician.- Pathophysiology of trop I and T in myocardial ischemia/infarction.- International Definition of MI- rationale and practice.- Evaluation of patients presenting with chest pain- where do troponins fit in.- Using contemporary troponin in patients with AMI.- Using troponins to guide therapy in ACS.- Use of cTn in patients with heart failure.- Elevated cTn in other acute situations.- Use of cTn for detection of more chronic disease states.- High sensitivity assays- what are they and why do we need them.- Use of troponin for the evaluation of patients potentially at risk for cardiovascular disease.- Gaps in our biomarker armamentarium – what novel biomarkers might be synergistic in patients with acute disease.- The patient with shortness of breath: the natriuretic peptide story.- Evaluation of patients presenting with sob- where do nps fit in.- Pathophysiology of bnp, and ntpro bnp.- A clinicians guide to lab assays for nps.- Using NPS in the ED- diagnosis.- Using NPs in the ED- algorithms and risk stratification.- Using NPs in the hospital.- NPs at the time of discharge.- Finger stick NP levels at home.- Guiding therapy of heart failure with NPs.- Caveats to NP measurement.- Other biomarkers for heart failure.- Biomarkers of cardiorenal disease,- Biomarkers of cardiac risk.​

“The purpose is to remind readers of the strengths and weaknesses inherent in the specific markers in commonly used cardiac laboratory tests. … The book accomplishes this by reminding providers of the nuances specific to each test and incorporating these in real clinical cases. This book is intended for any provider -- resident, attending, or midlevel -- who orders or interprets cardiac biomarkers. … book would be of most benefit to those working in cardiology as opposed to broader fields.” (Merrill H. Stewart, Doody's Book Reviews, February, 2017)