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B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP) is secreted from the ventricles as a result of increased transmural myocardial pressure. Elevated BNP levels predict systolic and diastolic left-ventricular dysfunction, and measuring BNP has been suggested as a way to screen for asymptomatic LV dysfunction in at-risk patients such as those with coronary artery disease (CAD). In a cross-sectional study of 293 male outpatients with CAD but no histories of heart failure, researchers used resting BNP levels (assessed with a fluorescence immunoassay) and echocardiograms to screen for systolic or diastolic LV dysfunction.
Of 67 patients (23%) with elevated BNP levels (>100 pg/mL), 18 (27%) had LVEFs <55% and 17 (25%) had LVEFs ≥55% with evidence of diastolic dysfu…