Rationale: Aberrant expression profiles of circulating microRNAs (miRNAs) have been described in various diseases and provide high sensitivity and specificity. We explored circulating miRNAs as potential biomarkers in patients with heart failure (HF). Objective: The goal of this study was to determine whether miRNAs allow to distinguish clinical HF not only from healthy controls but also from non-HF forms of dyspnea. Methods and Results: A miRNA array was performed on plasma of 12 healthy controls and 12 HF patients. From this array, we selected 16 miRNAs for a second clinical study in 39 healthy controls and in 50 cases with reports of dyspnea, of whom 30 were diagnosed with HF and 20 were diagnosed with dyspnea attributable to non-HF-related causes. This revealed that miR423-5p was specifically enriched in blood of HF cases and receiver-operator-characteristics (ROC) curve analysis showed miR423-5p to be a diagnostic predictor of HF, with an area under the curve of 0.91 (P<0.001). Five other miRNAs were elevated in HF cases but also slightly increased in non-HF dyspnea cases. Conclusion: We identify 6 miRNAs that are elevated in patients with HF, among which miR423-5p is most strongly related to the clinical diagnosis of HF. Recent studies have unveiled powerful and unexpected roles for microRNAs (miRNAs) in cardiovascular diseases, including HF. There are estimated to be more than 1000 different miRNAs, many of which are expressed in a tissue and cell-specific manner. 3 It was discovered only recently that miRNAs are also abundantly present in blood, where they can be detected in plasma, platelets, and erythrocytes, as well as in nucleated blood cells. 4 Aberrant expression profiles of miRNAs have been identified in blood of subjects with sickle cell anemia, prostate cancer, lung cancer and myocardial injury. 4 -6 This led us to hypothesize that miRNA profiling can also be used for diagnostic approaches in HF.Here we explored whether circulating miRNAs can be used as biomarkers in patients with HF. We first performed miRNA arrays on RNA isolated from plasma and selected 16 miRNAs expressed differentially in HF patients. Next, we evaluated these miRNAs in a second group of patients, consisting of 50 cases with reports of dyspnea, of whom 30 were diagnosed with HF (HF cases) and 20 were diagnosed to have dyspnea attributable to non-HF causes (non-HF cases). One circulating miRNA in particular, miR423-5p, was able to distinguish HF cases from non-HF cases.In conclusion, we demonstrate a number of miRNAs as putative biomarkers for HF, in particular miR423-5p. MethodsHuman plasma samples were obtained with informed consent under a general waiver by the Academic Medical Center institutional review board for the proper secondary use of human material. For the dyspnea registry, plasma samples were obtained as part of a multicenter effort involving 3 centers in The Netherlands. Experiments described were performed on samples obtained at the Academic Medical Center. For a detailed description of the dyspnea registry,...

IMPORTANCE Hodgkin lymphoma (HL) survivors are at increased risk of cardiovascular diseases. It is unclear, however, how long the increased risk persists and what the risk factors are for various cardiovascular diseases. OBJECTIVES To examine relative and absolute excess risk up to 40 years since HL treatment compared with cardiovascular disease incidence in the general population and to study treatment-related risk factors for different cardiovascular diseases. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS This retrospective cohort study included 2524 Dutch patients diagnosed as having HL at younger than 51 years (median age, 27.3 years) who had been treated from January 1, 1965, through December 31, 1995, and had survived for 5 years since their diagnosis. EXPOSURES Treatment for HL, including prescribed mediastinal radiotherapy dose and anthracycline dose. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES Data were collected from medical records and general practitioners. Cardiovascular events, including coronary heart disease (CHD), valvular heart disease (VHD), and cardiomyopathy and congestive heart failure (HF), were graded according to the Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events, version 4.0. RESULTS After a median follow-up of 20 years, we identified 1713 cardiovascular events in 797 patients. After 35 years or more, patients still had a 4-to 6-fold increased standardized incidence ratio of CHD or HF compared with the general population, corresponding to 857 excess events per 10 000 person-years. Highest relative risks were seen in patients treated before 25 years of age, but substantial absolute excess risks were also observed for patients treated at older ages. Within the cohort, the 40-year cumulative incidence of cardiovascular diseases was 50% (95% CI, 47%-52%). Fifty-one percent of patients with a cardiovascular disease developed multiple events. For patients treated before 25 years of age, cumulative incidences at 60 years or older were 20%, 31%, and 11% for CHD, VHD, and HF as first events, respectively. Mediastinal radiotherapy increased the risks of CHD (hazard ratio [HR], 2.7; 95% CI, 2.0-3.7), VHD (HR, 6.6; 95% CI, 4.0-10.8), and HF (HR, 2.7; 95% CI, 1.6-4.8), and anthracycline-containing chemotherapy increased the risks of VHD (HR, 1.5; 95% CI, 1.1-2.1) and HF (HR, 3.0; 95% CI, 1.9-4.7) as first events compared with patients not treated with mediastinal radiotherapy or anthracyclines, respectively. Joint effects of mediastinal radiotherapy, anthracyclines, and smoking appeared to be additive. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE Throughout their lives, HL survivors treated at adolescence or adulthood are at high risk for various cardiovascular diseases. Physicians and patients should be aware of this persistently increased risk.

CCSs have a high risk of developing symptomatic CEs at an early age. The most common CE was CHF. Survivors treated with both anthracyclines and radiotherapy have the highest risk; after 30 years, one in eight will develop severe heart disease. The use of potentially cardiotoxic treatments should be reconsidered for high-risk groups, and frequent follow-up for high-risk survivors is needed.