Open AccessUsefulness of B‐Type Natriuretic Peptide as a Predictor of Treatment Outcome in Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension
Author(s) -
Park Myung H.,
Scott Robert L.,
Uber Patricia A.,
Ventura Hector O.,
Mehra Mandeep R.
Publication year - 2004
Publication title -
congestive heart failure
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 1751-7133
pISSN - 1527-5299
DOI - 10.1111/j.1527-5299.2004.03881.x
Subject(s) - medicine , natriuretic peptide , cardiology , group b , pulmonary hypertension , heart failure , group a
We examined the utility of early modulation B‐type natriuretic peptide (BNP) levels in 20 pulmonary arterial hypertension patients as a marker of response to epoprostenol therapy. The baseline BNP level was 828±217 pg/mL. A total of 19 hospitalizations and one death occurred in nine patients during 11.0±1.8 months. At baseline, a trend toward higher BNP level was observed among the event‐free (Group A) as compared with clinical event patients (Group B) (1090±372 vs. 510±235 pg/mL, respectively; p =0.08). After 3 months on epoprostenol, a significant reduction among Group A occurred while Group B demonstrated an increase (288±92 vs. 610±121 pg/mL, p=0.04). A comparison of percent reduction in BNP level demonstrated a −70±7% change among Group A and an 11±19% increase in Group B ( p =0.005). A decrease in BNP level of ≥50% during the first 3 months on epoprostenol was strongly predictive of event‐free survival ( p =0.003). This investigation establishes the utility of BNP for predicting response to epoprostenol therapy in pulmonary arterial hypertension.