Biomarker ST2 (Suppression of Tumorigenicity 2) belongs to the interleukin-1 family. It is a receptor family which plays a major role in regulating the immune response. ST2 is a causal factor of chronic cardiovascular diseases such as atherosclerosis and heart failure. ST2 is considered an unfavourable biomarker in the pathogenesis of chronic inflammatory cardiovascular diseases. Inflammation and endothelial dysfunction are related to the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis and cause metabolism disorders, for example, diabetes, atherosclerosis, metabolic syndrome, or cerebrovascular disease. The marker gives additional information about the risk of developing heart failure, about the disease progressing and myocardial remodelling. Many clinical studies show that in patients who have heart failure or other cardiovascular diseases, ST2 blood level can:
give information about the health condition of the patient;
help evaluate the re-hospitalisation risk;
help evaluate the death risk;
help evaluate the effectiveness of the treatment;
help select the patients who may potentially develop heart failure from the general (asymptomatic) population.