title: Comparison of plasma N-brain natriuretic peptide, peak oxygen consumption, and left ventricular ejection fraction for severity of chronic heart failure.
abstract: We investigated whether a simple blood test of plasma N-brain natriuretic peptide (N-BNP), compared with echocardiographic left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF), both measured at rest, correlated well with aerobic exercise capacity (peak oxygen consumption [VO(2)]) in patients with chronic heart failure. Plasma N-BNP was found to significantly correlate with peak VO(2) (p <0.001) and exercise duration (p = 0.001), whereas LVEF showed very poor correlations with peak VO(2) and exercise duration (both p >0.3). The results suggest that N-BNP actually reflects functional cardiac impairment better than LVEF.
authors.affiliation: Academic Unit of Molecular Vascular Medicine, University of Leeds, Leeds General Infirmary, Leeds, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Simon G
authors.initials: SG
authors.lastname: Williams
authors.forename: Leong L
authors.initials: LL
authors.lastname: Ng
authors.forename: Russell J
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: O'Brien
authors.forename: Steve
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Taylor
authors.forename: Yi-Fen
authors.initials: YF
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Lip-Bun
authors.initials: LB
authors.lastname: Tan
mesh_terms: D016022:Case-Control Studies; D004452:Echocardiography; D017079:Exercise Tolerance / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D006333:Heart Failure / Q000097:blood* / Q000503:physiopathology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D020097:Natriuretic Peptide, Brain / Q000097:blood*; D010101:Oxygen Consumption / Q000502:physiology*; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D013318:Stroke Volume / Q000502:physiology*
chemical_list: D020097:Natriuretic Peptide, Brain