Systems and methods are provided for monitoring mortality risk in children with congenital cyanotic heart condition such as Tetralogy of Fallot (ToF) including prioritizing ToF patients for medical treatment and determining that a ToF patient is eligible for urgent surgical correction. Some embodiments of the invention determine a prognosis in terms of a predicted survival probability within a timeframe wherein the pediatric subject awaits surgical correction, based on determining the amount of a marker, such as BNP (brain natriuretic peptide) in serial samples of blood plasma from the subject and determining a Tetralogy of Fallot Index (TOFI) score from the biomarker values. Some embodiments of the invention use the score to determine severity of the heart condition for one or more patients, which may be used for managing treatment, such as scheduling surgery, transfers to available treatment centers, managing medical resources, or predicting costs, including for settings where the resources to perform pediatric cardiac surgery are limited.

Provided herein are methods and devices for the detection of analytes. The methods employ particles formed from a first metal conjugated to analytes. The analyte conjugated to the particle formed from the first metal can be accumulated at a working electrode. The first metal can be galvanically exchanged with ions of a second metal to form a layer of the first metal at the working electrode. The first metal can then be electrochemically detected and/or quantified. Using this method, analytes can be detected at low concentrations a few femtomolar via anodic stripping voltammetry, with no washing steps or electrode modifications.

The present invention relates to a method of identifying a subject being susceptible to a cardiac intervention based on the determination of GDF-15 in a sample of a subject in need of a cardiac intervention. Moreover, the present invention pertains to a method for predicting the risk of mortality or a further acute cardiovascular event for a subject suffering from a cardiovascular complication based on the determination of GDF-15 and a natriuretic peptide and/or a cardiac troponin in a sample the said subject. Also encompassed by the present invention are devices and kits for carrying out the aforementioned methods.

The present invention relates to a polypeptide carrying a human BNP(1-32) epitope according to Formula (I): a.sub.1-R.sub.1-X.sub.1-FGRKMDR-X.sub.2-R.sub.2-a.sub.2 as well as ligands specific of the FGRKMDR epitope.

Disclosed is a method for assessing heart failure in vitro including the steps of measuring in a sample the concentration of the marker IGFBP-7, of optionally measuring in the sample the concentration of one or more other marker(s) of heart failure, and of assessing heart failure by comparing the concentration determined in for IGFBP-7 and the concentration(s) determined for the optionally one or more other marker to the concentration of this marker or these markers as established in a reference population. Also disclosed are the use of IGFBP-7 as a marker protein in the assessment of heart failure, a marker combination comprising IGFBP-7 and a kit for measuring IGFBP-7.

The present invention relates to a method for assessing myocardial infarction comprising the steps of determining the amount of a first biomarker in a sample of a subject, said first biomarker being cMyBPC, determining the amount of a second biomarker in a sample of the subject, wherein said second biomarker is selected from the group consisting of: a BMP10-type peptide (Bone Morphogenic Protein 10-type peptide), FGF23 (Fibroblast growth factor 23), a BNP-type peptide (Brain natriuretic peptide type peptide), GDF-15 (Growth differentiation factor 15), ANG2 (Angiopoietin 2), CRP (C-reactive protein), ESM1 (endothelial cell specific molecule 1), or a lipid biomarker, such as Cholesterol, LDL (Low Density Lipoprotein) or APOAT (Apolipoprotein A-1) comparing the amounts of the biomarkers to references for said biomarkers and/or calculating a score for assessing myocardial infarction based on the amounts of the biomarkers, and assessing said subject based on the comparison and/or the calculation. The invention also relates to the use of a first biomarker being cMyBPC and a second biomarker selected from the group consisting of: a BMP10-type peptide, FGF23, a BNP-type peptide, GDF15, ANG2, CRP (C-reactive protein), ESM1, or a lipid biomarker, such as Cholesterol or LDL, or at least one detection agent for said first biomarker and at least one detection agent for said second biomarker for assessing myocardial infarction. Moreover, the invention further relates to a computer-implemented method for assessing myocardial infarction and a device and a kit for assessing myocardial infarction.

Described is a method for predicting the risk of a subject of rapidly progressing to chronic heart failure and/or of hospitalization due to chronic heart failure and/or death. The method is based on the determination of at least one biomarker selected from B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP) or N-terminal pro B-type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP), IGFBP7 (IGF binding protein 7), a cardiac Troponin, soluble ST2 (sST2), FGF-23 (Fibroblast Growth Factor 23), and Growth Differentiation Factor 15 (GDF-15), in a sample of a subject along with the assessment of the presence or absence of (i) abnormal midwall fractional shortening or (ii) left ventricular hypertrophy.

The present invention is intended to enable detection of specific human BNP fragments solely by immunoassay, and, through a ratio measurement of the human BNP fragments, provides a convenient way of providing information useful for diagnosis and prognosis of heart disease. The invention achieves this by providing an assay that uses an antibody specific to human BNP fragment (4-32)a fragment that has not caught much attention in the past. Provided herein is an immunoassay method for human BNP fragment (4-32) in a sample, and the method uses an antibody that reacts with human BNP fragment (4-32) but does not react with full-length human BNP (1-32), human BNP fragment (3-32), and human BNP fragment (5-32). Also provided herein is an assay in which the antibody is an antibody that reacts with human BNP fragment (4-32) at a site containing the N-terminus, and that reacts with human BNP fragment (4-10).

The present disclosure relates to an antibody that specifically binds a mutated NT-proBNP having i) a mutation substituting arginine at position 46 with histidine or ii) a mutation substituting glutamic acid at position 43 with aspartic acid. Moreover, the present disclosure relates to a mutated NT-proBNP or fragment thereof. Further, envisaged by the present disclosure are kits containing the antibody of the present disclosure, or the mutated NT-proBNP of the present disclosure. The present disclosure also concerns a method for diagnosing heart failure.

The present invention relates to a polypeptide carrying a human BNP(1-32) epitope according to Formula (I): a.sub.1-R.sub.1X.sub.1FGRKMDRX.sub.2R.sub.2-a.sub.2 as well as ligands specific of the FGRKMDR epitope.