Research backs BNP (B-type natriuretic peptide) for predicting CHF (congestive heart failure):
This article was originally published in Clinica
Executive Summary
A US study has provided further evidence to support the use B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP) as a marker for congestive heart failure (CHF). Of 325 patients who presented at an emergency department with dyspnoea (shortness of breath), those with BNP concentrations four times that of the normal level had a 51% chance of either being admitted to the hospital with CHF or dying within six months. The study, by Alan Maisel of the University of California, San Diego and colleagues, appears in the Annals of Emergency Medicine (February 6).