Summary and Conclusions
In the HF context, some biomarkers constitute a valuable tool that can help physicians address more efficiently the management of the different stages of the disease, from early detection and diagnosis to risk prediction and also guiding therapy. While many biomarkers have been studied over the last years, only a few of them have been accepted for use in clinical practice. Nowadays, B-type-related NP are probably the most established biomarkers in clinical practice for both AHF and CHF diagnosis and management. Specific recommendations about their use have been released in international guidelines. However, limitations of these biomarkers for the management of HF do exist and therefore the search for newer biomarkers continues unabated. Some of the novel emerging biomarkers may provide useful additional information over and above that of currently used markers. This may be the case for sST2, for which increasing evidence points toward its utility as a prognostic marker in AHF and CHF. However, more work and studies specifically designed to assess its value in HF are required before ST2 can be incorporated to everyday clinical practice