OBJECTIVES We sought to examine whether measurements of N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP), in addition to cardiac troponin T (cTnT) and interleukin-6 (IL-6), improve the ability to identify high-risk patients who benefit from an early invasive strategy. BACKGROUND Biochemical indicators of cardiac performance (e.g., NT-proBNP), inflammation (e.g., IL-6), and myocardial dama...

BACKGROUND BNP and N-terminal proBNP (NT-proBNP) concentrations may be depressed in patients with increased body mass index (BMI). Whether increased BMI affects accuracy of these biomarkers for diagnosing decompensated heart failure (HF) and predicting outcomes is unknown. METHODS We measured BNP and NT-proBNP in 685 patients with possible decompensated HF in a free-living community populatio...

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP) or N-terminal pro-BNP (NT-proBNP) levels may serve as a useful marker of cardiovascular risk for screening of the general population. We evaluated reference levels and distribution of NT-proBNP in the Korean general population based on a large cohort study. SUBJECTS AND METHODS We included 1,518 adult subjects (ages 40-69) of a commun...

UNLABELLED Elevated plasma N-terminal (NT)-proBNP from the heart as well as white matter hyperintensities (WMH) in the brain predict cardiovascular (CV) mortality in the general population. The cause of poor prognosis associated with elevated P-NT-proBNP is not known but WMH precede strokes in high risk populations. We assessed the association between P-NT-proBNP and WMH or brain atrophy measur...

BACKGROUND HIV-infected individuals are at increased risk of right and left heart dysfunction. N-terminal-pro-brain natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP), a marker of cardiac ventricular strain and systolic dysfunction, may be associated with all-cause mortality in HIV-infected women. The aim of this study was to determine if elevated levels of NT-proBNP is associated with increased mortality in HIV-...

OBJECTIVES To examine the relation between plasma concentration of the N terminal of the precursor of brain natriuretic peptide (NT proBNP), left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH), and left ventricular systolic dysfunction (LVSD) in patients with a history of hypertension. DESIGN Prospective study. SETTING Teaching hospital based study. PATIENTS NT proBNP concentrations were determined in fiv...

N-terminal pro β-type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) is a valuable marker for monitoring the response to treatment in patients with heart failure. Based on the clinically observed improvement of heart failure symptoms early after cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT), we sought to investigate whether CRT induce any significant reduction in the plasma level of NT-proBNP in three days after im...

BACKGROUND We aimed to evaluate the association between NT-proBNP and malnutrition in HD patients while taking into account the four established categories of parameters for diagnosis of protein energy wasting (PEW). METHODS A cross-sectional study was performed in Afro-Caribbean dialysis patients. One component in each of the 4 categories for the wasting syndrome was retained: serum albumin ...

The optimal N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) cut-off value for risk stratification of pulmonary embolism remains controversial. In this study we validated and compared different proposed NT-proBNP cut-off values in 688 normotensive patients with pulmonary embolism. During the first 30 days, 28 (4.1%) patients reached the primary outcome (pulmonary embolism-related death or c...