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(Circulation. 2002;105:e9107.)
© 2002 American Heart Association, Inc.

Cardiovascular News

Ruth SoRelle, MPH

Circulation Newswriter

B-Type Natriuretic Peptide as a Predictor

The case for B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP) as a predictor of sudden death in patients with chronic heart failure gets a boost in a report in this week’s issue of Circulation (Circulation. 2002;105:2392–2397). In the article, Rudolf Berger, MD, and colleagues at the University of Vienna report on their prospective study of 452 patients with a left ventricular ejection fraction 35%.

At 3-year follow-up, 293 patients had survived without either heart transplantation or left ventricular assist device. Another 89 patients had died and 65 more had received a donated heart. Of those patients who had died, 44 (49%) had died of sudden death, 31 (35%) of pump failure, and 14 (16%) of other causes. The only independent variable that predicted sudden death was BNP, a finding that Alan Maisel, MD, of the Division of Cardiology at Veteran’s Affairs Medical Center in San Diego, Calif, noted had great promise as a prognosticator. "For the first time since the introduction of echocardiography some 20 years ago, a simple blood test appears to offer a significant advance," he noted in his editorial in this issue of Circulation (Circulation. 2002;105:2328–2331). He noted that previous data had demonstrated the value of BNP as a prognostic device, but that its use had been held back because there was no simple test for the neurohormone. "In fact, present data, including the article in this issue of Circulation by Berger et al, suggest that BNP has finally cemented its role in these areas," concluded . . . [Full Text of this Article]