BACKGROUND COPD increases the risk of cardiovascular problems. Dyspnea on exertion can be associated with COPD or heart failure or both. N-terminal-pro-brain natriuretic peptide (NT-pro-BNP) is a marker of cardiac dysfunction, and exercise testing can identify subtle heart abnormalities. OBJECTIVE To determine whether cardiac dysfunction adds to the mechanism of dyspnea caused primarily by im...

BACKGROUND Cardiac amyloidosis is a fatal disease whose prognosis and treatment rely on identification of the amyloid type. In our aging population transthyretin amyloidosis (ATTRwt) is common and must be differentiated from other amyloid types. We report the clinical presentation, natural history, and prognostic features of ATTRwt compared with cardiac-isolated AL amyloidosis and calculate the...

BACKGROUND The objective of this report is to improve the quality of immunochemical measurements of B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP) and its N-terminal propeptide (NT-proBNP). The recommendations proposed are intended for use by manufacturers of commercial assays, by clinical laboratories using those assays, by clinical trial groups and research investigators, and by regulatory agencies, such a...

Patients with idiopathic pulmonary arterial hypertension usually undergo acute vasodilator tests with nitric oxide (NO) for haemodynamic evaluation and therapeutical planning. The aim of this study was to evaluate the link between the variation of N-terminal (NT)-pro-brain natriuretic peptide (BNP) levels and haemodynamic parameters during the acute vasodilator test. A total of 22 idiopathic pu...

This study investigated the effects of three sport-specific high-intensity training units on cardiac biomarker alteration in elite athletes of dragon boating. Thirty six male (age 33 ± 9) and twenty nine female (age 31 ± 8) elite athletes, members of the German national team, were examined in their final training camp preparing for world championship. At two time points blood panels (pre-traini...

INTRODUCTION Early identification of septic patients at high risk of dying remains a challenge. The prognostic role of brain natriuretic peptide (BNP) or N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) in septic patients remains controversial. The purpose of this systematic review and meta-analysis was to investigate the value of elevated BNP or NT-proBNP in predicting mortality in septic...

BACKGROUND The prognostic significance of chest pain is well established in patients with coronary artery disease, but still ill defined in primary prevention. Therefore, the aim of our analysis was to assess the prognostic value of different forms of chest pain in a large cohort of primary care subjects under the conditions of contemporary modalities of care in primary prevention, including me...

Measurement of plasma levels of brain natriuretic peptide (BNP) has been used to assess left ventricular dysfunction and prognosis. Levels of the N-terminus of the precursor of BNP (NT-proBNP) have been reported to be elevated to a greater extent than BNP in left ventricular dysfunction. We have devised a non-radioactive sensitive and specific assay for NT-proBNP based on a competitive ligand b...

Among the most promising tests for early detection of congestive heart failure (CHF) are brain natriuretic peptides (BNPs), but it is unclear if homocysteine can aid in differentiating those with and without disease. We attempt to use a combination of tests to reduce the need for echocardiography without missing any cases of CHF. We compared 50 CHF patients with an ejection fraction of less tha...