Background: B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP) is released from the cardiac ventricles in response to increased wall tension in patients with heart failure. The significance of blood BNP in predicting cardiac death in patients with acute coronary syndromes (ACS) in Chinese patients is yet to be established.
Methods: Blood BNP concentration was measured in 106 ACS patients 1-3 days after onset of ischemic symptoms. Patients were followed-up for 6 months on mortality and other cardiovascular events.
Results: During the follow-up, cardiac death occurred in 13 patients (non-survival group). Another 12 patients were hospitalized due to recurrence of ACS or heart failure. The mean blood BNP concentration in the non-survival group was significantly higher than that of the survival group (median 1132 vs. 116 ng/L, p <0.001). Multivariate logistic regression analysis incorporating age, gender, history of hypertension, diabetes, left ventricular ejection fraction, troponin I and therapeutic regimens indicated that BNP was an independent predictor of cardiac death in these patients (odds ratio = 21.19, 95% confidence interval 4.53-99.06, p <0.001).
Conclusions: BNP is a useful parameter in predicting cardiac death in Chinese patients with ACS.