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B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP) is secreted from the cardiac ventricles primarily in response to increased transmural myocardial pressure. Elevated BNP levels predict the presence of systolic and diastolic left-ventricular dysfunction and correlate with heart failure severity and prognosis. Can BNP testing facilitate the evaluation and triage of patients who present to the emergency department with presumed heart failure?
In a multicenter study sponsored by the maker of a BNP testing system, researchers studied 464 patients (median age, 64; 46% women; 63% African American) who presented to EDs with dyspnea. Patients' BNP levels were measured, and patients with levels >100 pg/mL were followed for 90 days. Attending physicians, blinded to the…