N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide as an indicator of disease severity in a heterogeneous group of patients with chronic precapillary pulmonary hypertension

Am J Cardiol. 2006 Aug 15;98(4):525-9. doi: 10.1016/j.amjcard.2006.02.061. Epub 2006 Jun 28.

Abstract

N-terminal-pro-B-type natriuretic peptide (NT-pro-BNP) is well established as a predictor of prognosis in patients with left ventricular dysfunction. Although a similar prognostic significance has been suggested in 1 study of right ventricular failure and idiopathic pulmonary arterial hypertension, NT-pro-BNP has not been assessed as a marker of disease severity in a more heterogenous group of patients with chronic precapillary pulmonary hypertension (PH). Hence, this study assessed plasma NT-pro-BNP and other clinical variables in 61 consecutively recruited patients with various forms of chronic precapillary PH. Right-sided cardiac catheterization and cardiopulmonary exercise testing were performed at baseline, and the prognostic significance of NT-pro-BNP was investigated with a mean follow-up of 25 months. Compared with age-matched controls (n = 10), plasma NT-pro-BNP was significantly greater in those with idiopathic pulmonary arterial hypertension (n = 16), chronic precapillary PH associated with other diseases (n = 26), and chronic thromboembolic disease (n = 19) and was correlated with hemodynamic variables and functional capacity. In 17 medically treated patients, the significant decrease in NT-pro-BNP levels correlated with improved hemodynamics. During follow-up, 15 patients died from cardiopulmonary causes. Baseline NT-pro-BNP was an independent predictor of mortality. Kaplan-Meier survival analysis according to the median value of NT-pro-BNP (168 pmol/L) demonstrated a significantly higher mortality rate in those with supramedian values than in those with low plasma levels (p = 0.010). In conclusion, these findings suggest that in a heterogenous group of patients with chronic precapillary PH, plasma NT-pro-BNP can be used to determine the clinical severity of disease and is independently associated with long-term mortality.

Publication types

  • Comparative Study

MeSH terms

  • Biomarkers / blood
  • Cardiac Catheterization
  • Chronic Disease
  • Exercise Test
  • Female
  • Follow-Up Studies
  • Humans
  • Hypertension, Pulmonary / blood*
  • Hypertension, Pulmonary / mortality
  • Hypertension, Pulmonary / physiopathology
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Natriuretic Peptide, Brain / blood*
  • Peptide Fragments / blood*
  • Prognosis
  • Protein Precursors / blood
  • Pulmonary Wedge Pressure / physiology
  • ROC Curve
  • Severity of Illness Index
  • Survival Rate
  • Time Factors

Substances

  • Biomarkers
  • Peptide Fragments
  • Protein Precursors
  • pro-brain natriuretic peptide (1-76)
  • Natriuretic Peptide, Brain