BACKGROUND: Statins have pleiotropic effects, such as improvement in endothelial function and antiinflammatory, antiproliferative, and antioxidative effects, that should be beneficial for patients with chronic heart failure (CHF). The aim of this study was to investigate the long-term effect of statins on neurohumoral activation and cardiac function in patients with ...

OBJECTIVE: The Myocardial performance index (MPI) is an echocardiographic index of combined systolic and diastolic function, calculated as isovolumetric relaxation time plus isovolumetric contraction time divided by ejection time. The aim of this study was to define the correlation of the MPI with plasma B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP) levels and ...

OBJECTIVE: To characterize cardiac abnormalities in HIV+ patients with increased serum B-type natiuretic peptide (BNP) by contrast-enhanced cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). DESIGN: Non-blinded prospective consecutive cohort evaluation. METHODS: More than 400 HIV+ patients were screened for potential BNP alterations. 16 met the inclusion criteria of elevated BNP levels and ...

BACKGROUND: The prognostic value of B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP) is unknown in low-flow, low-gradient aortic stenosis (AS). We sought to evaluate the relationship between AS and rest, stress hemodynamics, and clinical outcome. METHODS AND RESULTS: BNP was measured in 69 patients with low-flow AS (indexed effective orifice area < 0.6 ...

Myocardial performance index (MPI) is an echocardiographic Doppler-derived measure of ventricular function previously validated in patients with congenital heart disease. It may be preferred over conventional noninvasive measures of ventricular function in patients with complex anatomy because it is dependent on neither geometric shape nor heart rate. Brain natriuretic peptide ...

BACKGROUND: Measurement of B type natriuretic peptide and its N terminal prohormone (NTproBNP) can now be performed routinely by automated high-throughput immunoassays. The study compared measurement of NTproBNP with measurement of N terminal pro-atrial natriuretic peptide (NTproANP) for detection of ventricular systolic dysfunction in primary care. METHODS: 734 subjects aged ...

BACKGROUND: The incremental role of bedside tissue Doppler echocardiography and B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP) over the clinical judgment has been recently reported in the emergency diagnosis of congestive heart failure with a normal left ventricular ejection fraction (HFNEF). However, how well does this diagnostic strategy be applicable in the setting ...

B-type natriuretic peptides (NP) are excellent predictors of mortality in selected patients with heart failure and coronary heart disease. Up to now, the association of NPs with cardiovascular outcome has not been evaluated in multi-morbid populations with a broad spectrum of cardiovascular disease. NT-pro-BNP was measured at discharge in 615 ...

BACKGROUND: Several pathologic processes can cause myocardial injury, which is followed by cardiac remodeling and congestive heart failure (CHF). Cardiac troponin T (cTnT), a specific and sensitive marker of myocardial injury, has been related to long-term outcome in patients with CHF, so the relationship between cTnT and other biochemical markers ...

BACKGROUND: The aim of the present study was to investigate alterations in the plasma level of coupling factor 6 (CF6), a novel endogenous inhibitor of prostacyclin, in patients with coronary heart disease. METHODS AND RESULTS: In total, 35 patients with coronary heart disease and 20 age-matched healthy subjects were examined. ...

OBJECTIVES: This study was designed to determine whether admission B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP) levels are predictive of in-hospital mortality in acute decompensated heart failure (HF). BACKGROUND: Levels of BNP have been demonstrated to facilitate the diagnosis of HF and predict mortality in chronic systolic HF. METHODS: B-type natriuretic peptide levels ...

An alert algorithm, based on intrathoracic impedance monitoring, has been incorporated into a cardiac resynchronisation device (CRT) to detect pulmonary fluid accumulation, and to audibly alert patients to decompensating chronic heart failure (CHF). To evaluate this algorithm, alert events were correlated with changes in NT-proBNP concentration and CHF status. In ...

BACKGROUND: Measurement of N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide (NT-pro-BNP) measurement can be used to predict mortality in patients with acute coronary syndromes. Information on the value of NT-pro-BNP in clinically stable persons scheduled for angiography is limited. METHODS: We used Cox proportional hazards regression to examine the effect of NT-pro-BNP on ...

BACKGROUND: Cardiotoxity is a side-effect of cancer treatment with anthracycline that is currently monitored by measuring the left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) by gated equilibrium radionuclide ventriculography (RNV). We hypothesized that BNP measurements could replace, at least in part, the RNV examinations. Therefore, we studied whether BNP could be used, ...

BACKGROUND: The role of the vasopressin system after acute myocardial infarction is unclear. Copeptin, the C-terminal part of the vasopressin prohormone, is secreted stoichiometrically with vasopressin. We compared the prognostic value of copeptin and an established marker, N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide (NTproBNP), after acute myocardial infarction. METHODS AND RESULTS: In ...

BACKGROUND: Plasma brain natriuretic peptide (BNP) is elevated in asymptomatic patients with various cardiac abnormalities. We tested the hypothesis that measuring BNP is useful for detecting asymptomatic patients with cardiac abnormalities who are not identified by conventional health check-up programmes. MATERIALS AND METHODS: From 2001 to 2002, 6189 subjects (women ...

BACKGROUND: Plasma measurement of cardiac natriuretic peptides and their biosynthetic precursors is helpful in chronic heart failure patients. In contrast, information on circulating B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP) and its molecular precursor (proBNP) in patients with cardiogenic shock is scarce. We therefore examined proBNP-derived peptides in plasma from patients with myocardial ...

BACKGROUND: New evidence has emerged that the assessment of multiple biomarkers such as cardiac troponin T (cTnT) and N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) in patients with non-ST-elevation acute coronary syndrome (nSTE-ACS) provides unique prognostic information. The purpose of this study was to assess the association between baseline NT-proBNP levels and ...

AIM: N-terminal pro-b-type natriuretic peptide (NT pro-BNP) is a neurohormone synthesized predominantly in ventricular myocardium. In patients with symptoms of heart failure, elevation in NT pro-BNP accurately identifies ventricular dysfunction. However, NT pro-BNP levels are not specific for ventricular dysfunction in patients who do not have overt symptoms of heart ...

AIM: To examine the role of atorvastatin on volume-overload-induced heart failure and to test the hypothesis that atorvastatin inhibits MMP-2 and 9 expression in heart failure with non-ischemic etiology. METHODS: Arteriovenous (AV) fistula-treated rats were administered with atorvastatin (3 mg/kg/d) or vehicle for 17 weeks. Ventricular hypertrophy and heart failure ...

BACKGROUND: We undertook this study to investigate the levels of pericardial B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP) and its relationship with ventricular structure and function. METHODS: Pericardial and plasma BNP concentrations were measured in 18 patients with congenital ventricular septal defect. RESULTS: The mean level of BNP in the pericardial fluid (324.8+/-137.3 ...

BACKGROUND: Systolic time intervals measured by echocardiography and carotid artery tracings are validated methods of assessing left ventricular function. However, the clinical utility of phonoelectrocardiographic systolic time intervals for predicting heart failure using newer technology has not been evaluated. METHODS: We enrolled 100 adult patients undergoing left heart catheterization. Participants ...

BACKGROUND: It is unclear whether coronary artery stenosis affects the secretion of N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) and brain natriuretic peptide (BNP) from the heart independent of ventricular dysfunction. Therefore, this study evaluated the relationship between BNP and NT-proBNP secretion, plasma levels and the severity of coronary artery stenosis in ...

BACKGROUND: B-type natriuretic peptide and the N-terminal fragment of its prohormone, N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide (Nt-proBNP), provide valuable prognostic information on short- and long-term mortality in patients with acute coronary syndrome AIM: To investigate the association between plasma NT-proBNP levels and ST-segment resolution (STR) after reperfusion in patients with ST-segment ...

Heart-type fatty acid-binding protein (H-FABP), a marker of acute myocardial infarction and a soluble cytosolic protein, may be released following left ventricular remodelling in cardiac overloaded hearts caused by hypertension, aortic regurgitation (AR) or aortic stenosis (AS). Our aim was to investigate if H-FABP levels are associated with left ventricular ...

BACKGROUND: The association between B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP) and coronary artery disease is not fully understood. OBJECTIVE: To assess whether ischaemia per se is a stimulus for BNP secretion. SETTING: University tertiary hospital, Spain (Virgen de la Arrixaca). DESIGN: Prospective interventional study. PATIENTS: 11 patients (55 (9) years, left ventricular ...

OBJECTIVE: Brain death may induce cardiac dysfunction. In potential organ donors measurements of N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) and circulating cardiac troponins T and I (cTnT and cTnI), alone or in combination, are performed to investigate the accuracy of these biomarkers for early diagnosis of left ventricular systolic dysfunction. DESIGN ...

Despite the fact that B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP) is a useful diagnostic complement to clinical and radiographic data in the emergency diagnosis of acute congestive heart failure, levels of BNP in the mid-range (100-500 pg/ml) are acknowledged to be inconclusive for the diagnosis. We assessed the diagnostic value of the ...

The urban landscape is comprised of many land uses, none more intensively managed than turfgrass; however, quantification of nutrient losses from specific land uses within urban watersheds, specifically golf courses is limited. Nitrate (NO(3)-N) and dissolved reactive phosphorus (DRP) were measured on a golf course in Austin, TX, USA from ...

BACKGROUND: Innate immune activation mediated by myocardial Toll-like receptors (TLRs) is involved in cardiovascular disease. The function and role of TLRs on peripheral leukocytes in human chronic heart failure (CHF) are not known. METHODS: We measured whole blood TLR4 and TLR2 expressions in 28 patients with CHF (64+/-2 years, New ...

BACKGROUND: We investigated multiple biomarkers of various pathophysiologic pathways to determine their relationships with adverse outcomes in patients presenting with symptoms of acute coronary syndrome. METHODS: We obtained plasma specimens from 457 patients on admission and measured 7 biomarkers: myeloperoxidase (MPO), soluble CD40 ligand (CD40L), placental growth factor (PlGF), metalloproteinase-9 ...

The role of brain natriuretic peptide (BNP) as a screening tool for left ventricular systolic dysfunction (LVSD) in primary care remains unclear. We compared the efficacy of BNP with that of a 12 lead electrocardiogram (ECG) as a screening tool for LVSD in the setting of open access echocardiography and ...

Excessive fibrosis contributes to an increase in left ventricular stiffness. The goal of the present study was to investigate the role of connective tissue growth factor (CCN2/CTGF), a profibrotic cytokine of the CCN (Cyr61, CTGF, and Nov) family, and its functional interactions with brain natriuretic peptide (BNP), an antifibrotic peptide, ...

BACKGROUND: Atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP) and brain natriuretic peptide (BNP) levels were characterized in subjects with mitral regurgitation (MR). METHODS: Sixty-two cases of moderate or severe chronic MR were studied. The blood levels of neurohormonal factors were stratified by the known MR prognostic factors of New York Heart Association (NYHA) ...

N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) testing is useful for diagnosing acute decompensated heart failure. Whether NT-proBNP can be used to detect ventricular dysfunction in patients with stable coronary heart disease (CHD) and no history of heart failure is unknown. We measured NT-proBNP levels and performed transthoracic echocardiography in 815 participants ...

C-type natriuretic peptide (CNP) is expressed in the vascular endothelium. It is not known whether CNP is specifically increased in patients with idiopathic left ventricular systolic dysfunction (ILVDys) with or without overt heart failure, and whether in these patients it is related with indicators of myocardial and/or endothelial/microvascular impairment. We ...

To compare the ability of different B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP) assays to identify heart failure in stable elderly patients with a diagnosis of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). 200 patients aged >or=65 years with COPD according to their general practitioner and without known heart failure, underwent a diagnostic work-up. The ...

The level of N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide (NT-pro-BNP) is a strong predictor of mortality in patients with acute coronary syndrome and may be a strong prognostic marker in patients with chronic coronary artery disease. We investigated whether NT-pro-BNP could predict in-stent restenosis (ISR) in asymptomatic patients with preserved left ventricular ...

OBJECTIVES: This study was designed to determine whether alternate pro-B-type natriuretic peptide (proBNP) and BNP forms circulate in the general population. BACKGROUND: Bioactive BNP(1-32) and NT-proBNP(1-76) are derived from a precursor molecule, proBNP(1-108). Recent data suggest that aminodipeptidase-processed forms of BNP(1-32) (BNP(3-32)) and of proBNP(1-108) itself (proBNP(3-108)) may circulate and ...

In 1628, Harvey first correctly described the heart as a pump. It was another 350 years before the heart was established as an endocrine gland that synthesized a family of peptide hormones that regulate blood volume and blood pressure. There are now five peptide hormones made in the heart which ...

To analyze the cost efficiency of guidelines proposed by the European Society of Cardiology for investigation of patients in the community with suspected heart failure (HF). The guidelines recommend electrocardiography (ECG) and/or measurement of N-terminal pro B type natriuretic peptide (NTproBNP) prior to referral for echocardiography. Portable echocardiography is a ...

B-Type natriuretic peptide (BNP) is elevated in states of increased ventricular wall stress. BNP is most commonly used to rule out congestive heart failure (CHF) in dyspneic patients. BNP levels are influenced by age, gender and, to a surprisingly large extent, by body mass index (BMI). In addition, it can ...

BACKGROUND: Cystatin is an ubiquitous protease inhibitor involved in degradation of cellular proteins and has recently been associated with increased risk of cardiovascular disease and heart failure independent of renal function. We tested whether cystatin in heart failure is only associated with renal function or also with echocardio-Doppler parameters and ...

PURPOSE: To evaluate the predictive value of N-terminal pro B-type natiuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) reference cut-off values as diagnostic markers for left ventricular systolic dysfunction (LVSD). STUDY DESIGN: A retrospective study assessing the use of NT-proBNP in the diagnostic algorithm for the investigation of patients with suspected signs and symptoms of ...

BACKGROUND: Amino (N)-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) testing is useful for diagnostic and prognostic evaluation in patients with dyspnea. An inverse relationship between body mass index (BMI); (calculated as weight in kilograms divided by height in meters squared) and NT-proBNP concentrations has been described. METHODS: One thousand one hundred three ...

Elevated concentrations of B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP) and N-terminal pro- BNP (NT-proBNP) reflect elevated myocardial wall stress due to volume or pressure overload in cardiac disease. Recently, exercise-induced elevations of (NT-pro)BNP in coronary artery disease (CAD) patients have been reported to result from exercise-induced ischemia associated regional wall abnormalities. Therefore, ...

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to prospectively investigate changes in brain natriuretic peptide (BNP) and amino terminal pro-BNP (NT-pro-BNP) in relation to functional status after surgical ventricular restoration (SVR). METHODS: Between March 2003 and May 2006, 29 patients (20 men and 9 women, mean age 65 years, mean ...

OBJECTIVE: Phenylethanolamine-N-methyltransferase (PNMT), the enzyme that synthesizes epinephrine (EPI) from norepinephrine (NE) in the adrenal gland, is present in extra-adrenal tissues including heart. Ischemia evokes an excessive NE accumulation in the myocardial interstitial spaces. Therefore, cardiac PNMT activity with high NE levels may contribute to cardiac EPI synthesis and release ...

Plasma B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP) concentration has significant diagnostic accuracy and prognostic value in various forms of heart disease. Whether BNP is also useful in the evaluation and management of thalassaemia heart disease remains to be determined. Eighty three thalassaemia major patients; 8 with acutely decompensated heart failure (New York ...

AIMS: The Cardiac Resynchronization-Heart Failure (CARE-HF) study demonstrated that cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) could reduce morbidity and mortality and improve cardiac function in patients with moderate or severe heart failure secondary to left ventricular systolic dysfunction and markers of cardiac dyssynchrony. The purpose of this analysis was to investigate the ...