Peter Lesný, Eva Goncalvesová
B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP) and its N-terminal fragment (NT-proBNP) are biomarkers of heart failure (HF). They are released from cardiomyocytes in response to left ventricular pressure and/or volume overload. Originally, natriuretic peptides were utilized in the diagnosis of HF in patients with acute onset dyspnoe of unknown etiology. They have a good correlation with left ventricular dysfunction, NYHA class, and prognosis of patients with HF. There are good prospects for the use of BNP and NT-proBNP in individually tailoring the treatment of HF. Apart from that, B-type natriuretic peptides are independent predictors of prognosis of patients with acute coronary syndromes, stable coronary artery disease, and aortic stenosis.
Keywords: BNP, NT-proBNP, heart failure, prognosis