Conventional and novel diagnostic biomarkers of acute myocardial infarction: a promising role for circulating microRNAs

Biomarkers play a critical role in the diagnosis of acute myocardial infarction (AMI), especially in patients with atypical clinical and/or electrocardiographic presentation or co-morbidities, like the elderly. High-sensitivity assays based on specific biomarkers (e.g. cardiac troponins) enabling earlier AMI diagnosis have recently become available in clinical practice. Although no single biomarker of myocardial necrosis is ever likely to afford AMI diagnosis, a combination including different biomarkers for necrosis and ischemia, like new circulating molecules (microRNAs), could enhance diagnostic specificity. We review the recent literature on conventional and novel AMI biomarkers, with special emphasis on circulating microRNAs.