title: Screening for cardiac dysfunction in asymptomatic patients by measuring B-type natriuretic peptide levels.
abstract: Early diagnosis and treatment of heart failure lead to improved survival; pre-clinical detection would thus be beneficial. A non-invasive biochemical testing method would indeed be ideal to screen for the condition. In the present study, we sought to determine whether circulating levels of B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP) correlate with cardiac function in asymptomatic subjects. 294 consenting asymptomatic subjects were examined. BNP levels in elevated patients (> 18.4 pg / ml) showed significant correlation with echocardiographic parameters of the systolic and diastolic functions (EF r = -0.51, FS r = -0.50, E/A r = 0.42, p < 0.01). Moderate correlation with the CTR on chest X-ray was also seen (r = 0.23, p < 0.01). Multiple regression analysis showed numerous echocardiographic and hemodynamic parameters including those of systolic and diastolic function in addition to left ventricular wall thickness, blood pressure and serum creatinine levels to be significantly associated with raised BNP levels. Elevated BNP levels reflect cardiac function (both systolic and diastolic) in the asymptomatic population. Detection of cardiac dysfunction by the non-invasive biochemical test may prove useful in early pre-clinical diagnosis of heart failure.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiovascular Medicine, University of Tokyo, Japan.
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Suzuki
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Yamaoki
authors.forename: O
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Nakajima
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Yamazaki
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Yamada
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Akioka
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Yazaki
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Nagai
mesh_terms: D009320:Atrial Natriuretic Factor / Q000097:blood*; D004452:Echocardiography; D004562:Electrocardiography; D005260:Female; D006321:Heart / Q000503:physiopathology; D006331:Heart Diseases / Q000097:blood* / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000503:physiopathology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008403:Mass Screening / Q000379:methods*; D008875:Middle Aged; D020097:Natriuretic Peptide, Brain; D013902:Radiography, Thoracic; D012044:Regression Analysis; D016277:Ventricular Function, Left
chemical_list: D020097:Natriuretic Peptide, Brain; D009320:Atrial Natriuretic Factor