Diagnostic and Prognostic Value of N-Terminal Brain Natriuretic Peptide in Patients of Heart Failure

BACKGROUND Heart failure is a clinical condition in which a deviation in normal cardiac structure or function is accountable for the incapability of the heart to eject or fill with blood at a proportion proportionate to the requirements of the metabolizing tissues. The detection of heart failure is based on clinical symptoms, signs, chest x rays and reaction to the treatment. BNPs are released by the heart ventricles in reaction to volume load or pressure load physiologically and they function to counteract rennin angiotensin system, cause vasodilatation and natriuresis. The BNP evaluation has gained approval already in the recommendations of European Society of Cardiology for the detection of heart failure. We wanted to study the potential of a new unconventional assay plasma N-Terminal pro BNP in detecting cardiac failure, and correlate the levels of plasma N-Terminal pro BNP with the severity of the cardiac failure and levels of plasma N-Terminal Pro BNP with systolic and diastolic dysfunction. METHODS It was an analytical cross-sectional study conducted among 50 patients with clinical features of cardiac failure attending medicine OPD and emergency department of the hospital for the duration of 18 months and an equal number of age and sex equivalent fit controls. In subjects with clinical features of heart failure, and in healthy controls, 2 mL of blood sample is drawn for assay of plasma N-Terminal pro BNP within half an hour of presentation. Using biomedical kit plasma N-T pro BNP concentration was measured. The entire period of the assay is 18 min. Detectability range by this method of N-T proBNP is 5 pg/mL to 35,000 pg/mL. RESULTS Cases comprised of 28 males and 22 females with a mean age 50.80 (13.11) years while controls comprised of 28 males and 22 females with a mean age 50.86 (12.7) years. There was a statistically noteworthy difference in Mean N-T pro BNP between case and control groups, NYHA Class, and age group. Mean N-T pro-BNP is not significantly different at discharge and on 2nd follow-up. For the rest of the diagnoses, there is a notable difference in Mean N-T pro BNP at discharge and on 2nd follow-up. CONCLUSIONS Plasma N-Terminal pro BNP levels are useful from therapeutic point of view (aggressive therapy if needed e.g. Heart transplantation / bilateral pacemaker or invasive therapy may be planned by N-T pro BNP levels).