title: Using NT-proBNP to Detect Chronic Heart Failure in Elderly Patients with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease.
abstract: Objective. To detect chronic heart failure in elderly patients with a registered diagnosis of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) treated in Swedish primary health care using natriuretic peptide NT-proBNP. Design. A cross-sectional study. Setting. Two primary health care centres in southeastern Sweden each with about 9000 listed patients. Subjects. Patients aged 65 years and older with a registered diagnosis of COPD. Main Outcome Measures. Percentage of patients with elevated NT-proBNP, percentage of patients with abnormal left ventricular function assessed by echocardiography, and association between elevated NT-proBNP and symptoms, signs, and electrocardiography. Results. Using NT-proBNP threshold of 1200 pg/mL, we could detect and confirm chronic heart failure in 5.6% of the study population with concurrent COPD. An elevated level of NT-proBNP was only associated with nocturia and abnormal electrocardiography. Conclusions. We found considerably fewer cases of heart failure in patients with COPD than could be expected from the results of previous studies. Our study shows the need for developing improved strategies to enhance the validity of a suspected heart failure diagnosis in patients with COPD.
authors: Blekinge Competence Centre, Wämö Centre, 371 81 Karlskrona, Sweden ; Lund University, Department of Clinical Sciences in Malmö, General Practice/Family Medicine, 205 02 Malmö, Sweden.
authors: Elzbieta
authors: 0000-0001-9808-6604
authors: E
authors: Kaszuba
authors: Blekinge Competence Centre, Wämö Centre, 371 81 Karlskrona, Sweden.
authors: Bartlomiej
authors: 0000-0003-3317-507X
authors: B
authors: Wagner
authors: Blekinge Competence Centre, Wämö Centre, 371 81 Karlskrona, Sweden ; Lund University, Department of Clinical Sciences in Malmö, General Practice/Family Medicine, 205 02 Malmö, Sweden.
authors: Håkan
authors: 0000-0002-4851-1227
authors: H
authors: Odeberg
authors: Blekinge Competence Centre, Wämö Centre, 371 81 Karlskrona, Sweden ; Lund University, Department of Clinical Sciences in Malmö, General Practice/Family Medicine, 205 02 Malmö, Sweden ; Research Unit of General Practice, Institute of Public Health, University of Southern Denmark, 5000 Odense C, Denmark.
authors: Anders
authors: A
authors: Halling