Aims: BNP has important effects on haemodynamics and myocardial remodelling which are protective from development and progression of heart failure. The aim of this study was to examine whether three common genetic variants (rs198389, rs5068, and rs198358) within or adjacent to the BNP gene locus which were shown to be associated with BNP blood levels are associated with risk of heart failure in the pospective population-based EPIC-Norfolk cohort.
Methods and results: The hazard ratio on heart failure was calculated in 23 192 participants in the EPIC-Norfolk study with Cox proportional regression analyses. During a mean follow-up of 12.6 years, 1673 (7.2%) participants had a heart failure event. There was no significant association between genotypes of rs198389, rs5068, and rs198358 and heart failure risk. Results did not differ materially in analyses stratified by hypertension, obesity, and coronary heart disease.
Conclusions: Common genetic variants reported to be associated with BNP levels were not associated with a relevant risk of heart failure in our population-based cohort. However, we cannot exclude a small association with risk of heart failure or an association with individual subtypes of the heart failure syndrome.
Keywords: Brain natriuretic peptide; Heart failure; Single nucleotide polymorphism.