Abstract
The heart is not only a pump, but also it is an endocrine organ. Cardiac stretch and overload stimulate the secretion of natriuretic peptides, which have a variety of beneficial actions, such as vasodilation and natriuresis. Cardiac-derived natriuretic peptides, especially B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP), have emerged as useful biomarkers for the diagnosis, and potentially the treatment, of heart failure patients. The inactive amino-terminal fragment of the BNP prohormone (NT-proBNP), which is more stable than mature BNP, has also been recognized as an aid in the diagnosis of left-ventricular systolic dysfunction. Furthermore, elevated NT-proBNP concentrations have been shown to be predictive of poor prognosis in a variety of cardiovascular diseases, suggesting that it could be useful for risk stratification of patients. This review summarizes current literature that has addressed the issue of NT-proBNP as a prognostic tool in heart failure, acute coronary syndromes and other conditions.
Original language | English (US) |
---|---|
Pages (from-to) | 194-201 |
Number of pages | 8 |
Journal | Nature Clinical Practice Cardiovascular Medicine |
Volume | 2 |
Issue number | 4 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Apr 2005 |
Keywords
- B-type natriuretic peptide
- Biomarkers
- Diagnosis
- N-terminal proB-type natriuretic peptide
- Prognosis
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Cardiology and Cardiovascular Medicine