Why the study?
The relationship between baseline inflammation, natriuretic peptide activity measured by NT-proBNP, and incident heart failure in older men remained to be determined.
Does elevated baseline inflammation (CRP and IL-6) increase the risk of incident heart failure in older men, and is this relationship independent of NT-proBNP?
Does elevated baseline inflammation (CRP and IL-6) increase the risk of incident heart failure in older men, and is this relationship independent of NT-proBNP?
The association between baseline inflammatory markers and incident heart failure in older men appears to be largely explained by NT-proBNP activity.
NT-proBNP adjustment abolishes CRP/IL-6 associations with incident HF; leaves open whether inflammation independently predicts risk in older men.
Aim: To determine the relationship between baseline inflammation (CRP and IL-6) with natriuretic peptide (NP) activity (measured by NT-proBNP) and incident heart failure (HF) in older men. Methods & results: In the British Regional Heart Study, 3569 men without prevalent myocardial infarction or HF were followed for mean 16.3 years; 327 developed HF. Baseline CRP and IL-6 were significantly and positively associated with NT-proBNP. Those in the highest CRP and IL-6 quartiles had an elevated risk of HF after age and BMI adjustment (HR = 1.42 [1.01–1.98] and 1.71 [1.24–2.37], respectively), which markedly attenuated after NT-proBNP adjustment (HR = 1.15 [0.81–1.63] and 1.25 [0.89–1.75], respectively). Conclusion: NP activity is associated with pro-inflammatory biomarkers and may explain the link between inflammation and incident HF.
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McKechnie et al. (2021) studied this question.
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