Study of plasma B-type natriuretic peptide assay for evaluation of heart function in chronic heart failure patients

Objective To investigate the value of plasma B-type natriuretic peptide(BNP) assay for evaluation of heart function in chronic heart failure(CHF) patients.Methods The concentrations of plasma BNP were measured by microparticle enzyme immunoassay in 89 patients with CHF and 40 control subjects.The heart function was classified according to the New York Heart Association(NYHA) criteria.Results At the clinical decision threshold of 111.7 pg/ml,the plasma BNP demonstrated a diagnostic sensitivity and specificity of 88.16% and 94.29%,respectively.The concentration of of plasma BNP in patients with CHF was 574.3±176.2 pg/ml,which was higher than healthy control,66.7±17.5 pg/ml,P0.05.The concentrations of plasma BNP increased gradually with more severe symptoms(NYHA class Ⅰ-Ⅳ) and was positively correlated with NYHA class(r=0.835,P0.001).After the CHF patients were given treatment,the concentrations of plasma BNP were obviously reduced in each NYHA class,compared with pretherapy,P0.05.Conclusion The concentration of plasma BNP in patients with CHF significantly elevated with the severity of heart failure and and was positively correlated with NYHA class.It can better reflect the heart function,and can be served as a effective marker of clinical diagnosis,observation of therapeutic effect,risk stratification and judgement of prognosis in patients with CHF.