N-Terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide as a diagnostic and prognostic marker in patients with heart failure

Background: Heart failure is a common medical condition with a poor prognosis. Echocardiography is the gold standard for diagnosis, but it is not always available, especially in emergency situations. NT-pro-brain natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) is a novel marker for the diagnosis of heart failure that is being used to detect and predict presence of heart failure. Objective: The purpose of this study was to investigate the diagnostic and prognostic role of NT-proBNP in patients with congestive heart failure and correlate its levels with the clinical manifestations and echocardiographic findings. Patients and methods: This study was performed on 100 heart failure patients who were divided in two groups and subjected to history taking, medical examination, echocardiography and other related laboratory investigations (S.urea, creatinine, ALT, AST, GGT, Alkaline phosphatase). Results: There was a significant proportional relationship between NT-proBNP versus age and inverse versus ejection fraction. ROC curve analysis showed the ability of NT-proBNP to identify patients with HF Also, comparison between different Predictors of developing heart failure, showed that NT-proBNP and Ejection fraction are the most significant. Conclusion: Measurement of NT-proBNP can be used as a useful biochemical marker for detection of heart failure and is superior to other natriuretic peptides.