Amino terminal fragment of pro-B-type natriuretic peptide for complex congenital heart diseases: One for all, all for one?

摘要

We read with interest the paper of Eindhoven et al. (1) underscoring the clinical usefulness of N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) in adult patients with different congenital heart diseases (CHDs), even corrected or palliated. Plasma levels of NT-proBNP differing by diagnosis were correlated with most relevant echocardiographic morphological and functional indexes, as well as in a subset of patients undergoing cardiopulmonary stress testing, with exercise capacity. This work extends actual knowledge of the utility of both BNP and NT-proBNP as diagnostic tools in adulf patients with CHD (2—8), confirming known age and sex influence while specifying a differential role of left and right ventricular involvement with regard to natriuretic peptide (NP) production and secretion in each CHD analyzed. Moreover, the work confirms that the NP level is associated with functional capacity, even in asymptomatic CHD patients (2-5).