Zloto K, et al. - Researchers examined the premise that miRNAs-208a, -208b, and -499 can serve as noninvasive biomarkers for the extent of myocardial damage and the postoperative clinical course of pediatric patients with congenital heart defects (CHDs) at an early time point following surgery. Before and 6, 12, and 24 h after surgery, serum samples were obtained from 79 pediatric patients. It was noted that the levels of the three miRNAs were elevated at 6 h after surgery, remained high at 12 h and declined at 24 h after the operation. The findings demonstrated that circulating miRNA-208a was a predictor for the risk of developing cardiac complications during the postoperative course as early as 6 h after heart surgery for CHD in pediatric patients.