Biomarkers play key roles in the diagnosis, risk assessment, treatment and supervision of cardiovascular diseases (CVD). Optical biosensors and assays are valuable analytical tools answering the need for fast and reliable measurements of biomarker levels. This review presents a survey of recent literature with a focus on the past 5 years. The data indicate continuing trends towards multiplexed, simpler, cheaper, faster and innovative sensing while newer tendencies concern minimizing the sample volume or using alternative sampling matrices such as saliva for less invasive assays. Utilizing the enzyme-mimicking activity of nanomaterials gained ground in comparison to their more traditional roles as signaling probes, immobilization supports for biomolecules and for signal amplification. The growing use of aptamers as replacements for antibodies prompted emerging applications of DNA amplification and editing techniques. Optical biosensors and assays were tested with larger sets of clinical samples and compared with the current standard methods. The ambitious goals on the horizon for CVD testing include the discovery and determination of relevant biomarkers with the help of artificial intelligence, more stable specific recognition elements for biomarkers and fast, cheap readers and disposable tests to facilitate rapid testing at home. As the field is progressing at an impressive pace, the opportunities for biosensors in the optical sensing of CVD biomarkers remain significant.

Biomarkers play key roles in diagnosis, risk assessment, treatment and supervision of car-diovascular diseases (CVD). Optical biosensors and assays are valuable analytical tools answering the need for fast and reliable measurements of biomarkers levels. This review presents a survey of recent literature with a focus on the past 5 years. The data indicates continuing trends towards multiplexed, simpler, cheaper, faster and innovative sensing while newer tendencies concern minimizing the sample volume or using alternative sam-pling matrices such as saliva, for less invasive assays. The use of enzyme mimicking activity of nanomaterials gained ground in comparison to their more traditional roles as signaling probe, immobilization support for biomolecules or for signal amplification. The growing use of aptamers as replacements for antibodies prompted emerging applications of DNA am-plification and editing techniques. Optical biosensors and assays were tested with larger sets of clinical samples and compared with the current standard methods. The ambitious goals on the horizon for CVD testing include the discovery and determination of relevant biomarkers with the help of artificial intelligence, more stable specific recognition elements for biomarkers and fast, cheap readers and disposable tests to facilitate rapid testing at home. As the field is progressing at an impressive pace the opportunities for biosensors in the optical sensing of CVD biomarkers remain significant.

Objectives: This study aimed to assess the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the epidemiology, microbiology, clinical presentation, management, and outcomes of infective endocarditis (IE). Methods: A retrospective cohort study was conducted, including 100 adult patients with definite IE diagnosed between January 2020 and December 2025 at a Romanian tertiary care centre. Patients were stratified by year of admission into pandemic (2020–2022) and post-pandemic (2023–2025) groups. Results: Among the 100 patients (47 in the pandemic period and 53 in the post-pandemic period), the time from symptom onset to diagnosis was significantly shorter in the post-pandemic period (median of 24 days versus 40 days; p < 0.01). We observed changes in the microbiological profile. The proportion of staphylococcal IE was lower, while the proportions of enterococcal and streptococcal IE were slightly higher in the post-pandemic period. In-hospital mortality decreased significantly from 51.1% to 24.5% (p = 0.006). Embolic events were more frequent in the post-pandemic period (62.3% vs. 39.1%; p = 0.022). Vegetation size was associated with embolic risk (OR: 1.05 per mm; p < 0.01). Pandemic-period admission (aOR 3.11; p = 0.020) and sepsis (aOR 11.30; p = 0.006) were independently associated with higher in-hospital mortality. Conclusions: The COVID-19 pandemic was associated with delayed presentation and worse outcomes in IE. Post-pandemic improvements likely reflect healthcare system adaptation and earlier diagnosis. Microbiological aetiology remains a key determinant of prognosis.

Introduction: Infective endocarditis (IE) remains associated with high mortality, and the optimal timing of surgery in patients without an urgent indication remains uncertain. We evaluated the association between surgical timing, in-hospital mortality, and a study-specific ECHO risk score. Methods: We retrospectively studied 100 adults with definite IE treated at a tertiary care center in Bucharest, Romania. The ECHO score incorporated etiology, blood culture time to positivity, vegetation size, and embolization or surgical indication. Surgical timing was categorized as < 7 days, 7–14 days, or >14 days after hospital admission. The primary outcome was in-hospital mortality. Results: Eighty-two patients had a surgical indication, and 60 underwent surgery. Mortality was lowest after surgery at 7–14 days (23.1%), compared with >14 days (27.3%), no surgery despite indication (36.4%), and < 7 days (56.0%) (p = 0.123). Among patients with a non-urgent surgical indication, intermediate-risk patients had the lowest mortality after surgery at 7–14 days (25%), whereas no deaths occurred among surgically treated high-risk patients. ECHO risk category was not associated with mortality (p = 0.165). Conclusions: Surgery at 7–14 days was associated with the lowest observed mortality. These exploratory findings require confirmation in larger prospective studies.

Introduction: Infective endocarditis (IE) remains associated with high mortality, and the optimal timing of surgery in patients without an urgent indication remains uncertain. We evaluated the association between surgical timing and in-hospital mortality. Methods: We retrospectively studied 100 adults with definite IE admitted during 2020–2025 at a tertiary care centre in Bucharest, Romania. The ECHO score incorporated aetiology, blood culture time to positivity, vegetation size, and embolisation or surgical indication. Surgical timing was categorised as study-specific descriptive bins: 14 days after hospital admission. The primary outcome was in-hospital mortality. Results: Eighty-two patients had a surgical indication (51 non-urgent and 31 urgent), and 60 underwent surgery. In the pooled indicated cohort, crude mortality was 56.0% at 14 days, and 36.4% with no surgery despite indication (p = 0.123). Among patients with a non-urgent indication, mortality was 25.0% (3/12), 25.0% (2/8), 26.7% (4/15), and 25.0% (4/16), respectively, showing no apparent favourable timing interval. Mortality across ECHO score strata 0–1, 2, and 3–4 was non-monotonic (31.8%, 47.6%, and 27.8%); the continuous score showed negligible correlation with mortality (r = −0.05) and an AUC of 0.466 (95% CI 0.353–0.575). Conclusions: Crude mortality differed across timing categories when urgent and non-urgent indications were pooled, whereas mortality was similar across timing categories in the non-urgent subgroup. These timing categories are descriptive and cannot identify a favourable or optimal surgical window or support causal treatment comparisons.