Anesthesiology, V 123 • No 2 246 August 2015 T HE heart is not only a pumping organ but also an endocrine organ. B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP) is secreted primarily by cardiac ventricular myocytes in response to increased ventricular wall stress induced by volume expansion, pressure overload, or ischemia.1 BNP protein formation begins with intracellular translation into a large preprohormone...

Anesthesiology, V 123 • No 2 246 August 2015 T HE heart is not only a pumping organ but also an endocrine organ. B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP) is secreted primarily by cardiac ventricular myocytes in response to increased ventricular wall stress induced by volume expansion, pressure overload, or ischemia.1 BNP protein formation begins with intracellular translation into a large preprohormone...

Abbreviations: ACC/AHA, American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association; AF, atrial fibrillation; ANP, Atrial Natriuretic Peptide; AS, aortic stenosis; BNP, Brain Natriuretic Peptide; EF, ejection fraction; ESC, European Society of Cardiology; LA, left atrium; MR, mitral regurgitation; MS, mitral stenosis; MVA, mitral valve area; NT-Pro-BNP, N terminal-pro brain natriuretic peptide; P...

BACKGROUND Human pro-B-type natriuretic peptide is cleaved into the active B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP) and the inactive fragment NT-proBNP. It is unclear if, similar to BNP, NT-proBNP can be used as a marker of impaired left ventricular (LV) ejection fraction (EF). This study evaluated the analytical performance of both assays to detect LV systolic dysfunction. METHODS In 72 patients wit...

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Diagnosis of paroxysmal atrial fibrillation (AF) can be challenging, but it is highly relevant in patients presenting with sinus rhythm and acute cerebral ischemia. We aimed to evaluate prospectively whether natriuretic peptide levels and kinetics identify patients with paroxysmal AF. METHODS Patients with acute cerebral ischemia were included into the prospective obser...

BACKGROUND Several studies have been published in the literature on the diagnostic accuracy of NT-pro-BNP for pleural effusions from heart failure in the last decade. The purpose of our study was to perform a systematic review and meta-analysis on the diagnostic accuracy of pleural fluid NT-pro-BNP for pleural effusions of cardiac origin. METHODS MEDLINE, EMBASE, PapersFirst, and the Cochrane...

Vitamin D insufficiency may be associated with cardiovascular (CV) mortality in HD patients. To test this hypothesis, we cross-sectionally measured 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25D), 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D (1,25D), cardiac troponin T (cTnT), and N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide (NT-pro-BNP) in chronic HD patients. Sixty-five patients (M:F=31:34, age 52.2+/-13.2 yr, DM 41.5%) were selected. Al...

OBJECTIVES We sought to characterize natriuretic peptide levels in a cohort of rigorously characterized subjects with lone atrial fibrillation (AF). BACKGROUND Atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP) and brain natriuretic peptide (BNP) are sensitive biomarkers of cardiac contractile dysfunction. Both peptides have been reported to be elevated in cohorts with AF, but previous studies have included su...

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Determining the underlying cause of stroke is important to optimize secondary prevention treatment. Increased blood levels of natriuretic peptides (B-type natriuretic peptide/N-terminal pro-BNP [BNP/NT-proBNP]) have been repeatedly associated with cardioembolic stroke. Here, we evaluate their clinical value as pathogenic biomarkers for stroke through a literature systemat...

Turner syndrome (TS) is a chromosomal disorder that affects 1:2,000 females. It results from either the complete or partial loss of the X chromosome as well as other aberrations. Clinical features of TS include short stature, delayed puberty, and congenital cardiac malformations. TS children also have an increased prevalence of cardiometabolic risk factors, which predisposes them to complicatio...