title: B-type natriuretic peptide in acute pulmonary embolism.
abstract: Myocardial stretch leads to the natriuretic peptides release in acute or chronic left ventricular dysfunction. However, there is an accumulating evidence that B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP) and its N-terminal fragment (NT-proBNP) may originate from right ventricle and their concentrations are elevated in patients with acute pulmonary embolism (APE) especially when resulting in right ventricular dysfunction (RVD). Recently it is underlined that severity assessment of APE as well as the risk stratification and therapy selection is based both on patients' hemodynamic status and markers of myocardial injury and RVD. BNP and NT-proBNP are helpful in identifying patients with RVD in APE, emerging as an adjunctive tool to echocardiography. Elevated BNP or NT-proBNP levels are also significant predictors of death and/or complicated clinical course in APE.
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine and Cardiology, Medical University of Warsaw, Poland.
authors.forename: Anna
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kaczyńska
authors.forename: Maciej
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kostrubiec
authors.forename: Michał
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ciurzyński
authors.forename: Piotr
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Pruszczyk
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D015415:Biomarkers; D006801:Humans; D009206:Myocardium / Q000378:metabolism; D020097:Natriuretic Peptide, Brain / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology*; D010446:Peptide Fragments / Q000378:metabolism; D011379:Prognosis; D011655:Pulmonary Embolism / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000503:physiopathology*; D018497:Ventricular Dysfunction, Right / Q000503:physiopathology
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; D010446:Peptide Fragments; C109794:pro-brain natriuretic peptide (1-76); D020097:Natriuretic Peptide, Brain