Heart failure diagnosis: Impacts of atrial fibrillation on the diagnostic marker NT-proBNP

PLoS Med. 2025 Oct 31;22(10):e1004782. doi: 10.1371/journal.pmed.1004782. eCollection 2025 Oct.

Abstract

A recent PLOS Medicine study shows that atrial fibrillation lowers the specificity of the biomarker NT-proBNP for heart failure. Adjusted thresholds and better echocardiography access are therefore required for NT-proBNP to remain as a high negative predictive value rule-out test in primary care.

MeSH terms

  • Atrial Fibrillation* / blood
  • Atrial Fibrillation* / complications
  • Atrial Fibrillation* / diagnosis
  • Biomarkers / blood
  • Echocardiography
  • Heart Failure* / blood
  • Heart Failure* / diagnosis
  • Humans
  • Natriuretic Peptide, Brain* / blood
  • Peptide Fragments* / blood
  • Predictive Value of Tests

Substances

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