[Cystatin C: a protein for heart failure].

Cystatin C (CysC) is an antiprotease useful for measuring kidney function. Beyond such property, it carries significant prognostic information in several fields of cardiovascular diseases. We review data that support CysC as a prognostic factor in cardiovascular diseases among healthy elderly, hypertensive and heart failure patients. In addition, it has been speculated that CysC may be an early marker of ventricular remodelling, primarily involved in its pathogenesis, as a local antiprotease. Its role in physiopathology and clinical issues of cardiovascular pathology is yet to be elucidated.