Cardiac Biomarkers in COVID-19: A Narrative Review

The diagnosis and risk stratification of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is primarily based on discretionary use of laboratory resources. Several lines of evidence now attest that cardiovascular disease not only is a frequent complication of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection, but its pre-existence may increase the risk of morbidity, disability, and death in patients with COVID-19. To this end, routine assessment of biomarkers of cardiac injury (i.e., cardiac troponin I or T) and dysfunction (e.g., natriuretic peptides) has emerged as an almost essential practice in patients with moderate, severe, and critical COVID-19 illness. Therefore, this narrative review aims to provide an overview of cardiac involvement in patients with SARS-CoV-2 infection as well as the clinical background for including cardiac biomarkers within specific panels of laboratory tests for managing COVID-19 patients.