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class=""h4"">Objectives
This study sought to deter
mine the prognosti
c value of B-type natriureti
c peptide (BNP) in patients with heart failure with preserved eje
ction fra
ction (HFPEF), in
co
mparison to data in HF patients with redu
ced left ventri
cular (LV) EF (¡Ü40 % ).
class=""h4"">Background
Management of patients with HFPEF is difficult. BNP is a useful biomarker in patients with reduced LVEF, but data in HFPEF are scarce.
class=""h4"">Methods
In this study, 615 patients with mild to moderate HF (mean age 70 years, LVEF 33 % ) were followed for 18 months. BNP concentrations were measured at baseline and were related to the primary outcome, that is, a composite of all-cause mortality and HF hospitalization, and to mortality alone. The population was divided in quintiles, according to LVEF, and patients with reduced LVEF were compared with those with HFPEF.
class=""h4"">Results
There were 257 patients (42 % ) who had a primary endpoint and 171 (28 % ) who died. BNP levels were significantly higher in patients with reduced LVEF than in those with HFPEF (p < 0.001). BNP was a strong predictor of outcome, but LVEF was not. Importantly, if similar levels of BNP were compared across the whole spectrum of LVEF, and for different cutoff levels of LVEF, the associated risk of adverse outcome was similar in HFPEF patients as in those with reduced LVEF.
class=""h4"">Conclusions
BNP levels are lower in patients with HFPEF than in patients with HF with reduced LVEF, but for a given BNP level, the prognosis in patients with HFPEF is as poor as in those with reduced LVEF.