Abstract
Myocardial infarction remains a leading cause of mortality worldwide as the most severe clinical presentation of coronary artery disease, with an increasing trend in young adults. In the early phase of myocardial infarction, the mean blood pressure regulates the pressure distal to the occluded artery in the presence of well-developed collateral coronary circulation. Hypotensive medication administered after the myocardial infarction could compromise collateral recruitment and exacerbate myocardial ischemia. Collateral coronary circulation develops through angiogenic processes as a network of small blood vessels. After the myocardial infarction, the collateral arteries open and begin a process of arteriogenesis in order to mature into functional arteries. Although there are several well-known biochemical and molecular biomarkers for both myocardial infarction and angiogenesis, we need to associate these with arteriogenesis biomarkers in order to be able to fully determine the level of collateral coronary circulation development after myocardial infarction. In this review, we summarize some of the most important biomarkers that could provide insight into the collateral coronary arteriogenesis process. Our aim is to identify specific biomarkers that can be identified in the early processes of arteriogenesis after the myocardial event in order to quickly determine the best therapeutic strategy.