• Sheng-Jing Dong, Lisa de las Fuentes, Angela L Brown, Alan D Waggoner, Gregory A Ewald, and Víctor G Dávila-Román.
• Cardiovascular Imaging and Clinical Research Core Laboratory, Cardiovascular Division, Washington University School of Medicine, St Louis, Missouri 63110, USA.
• J Am Soc Echocardiogr. 2006 Aug 1;19(8):1017-25.

ObjectivesTo investigate the correlations of plasma N-terminal pro B-type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) levels with echocardiographic measurements of left ventricular (LV) systolic and/or diastolic function.BackgroundPlasma levels of NT-proBNP are increased in heart failure. The extent to which NT-proBNP levels increase in LV diastolic dysfunction has not been well characterized.MethodsPlasma NT-proBNP levels were measured in 191 consecutive, clinically stable, ambulatory patients. Echocardiography was used to determine LV systolic (LV ejection fraction [LVEF]) and diastolic function by mitral E wave to Doppler tissue early diastolic lateral annulus velocity ratio (E/Em). Patients with a history, physical findings, and/or echocardiographic evidence of cardiovascular disease (n = 148) were grouped as: (1) normal LV systolic function (LVEF > or = 55%, n = 81); and (2) LV systolic dysfunction (LVEF < 55%, n = 67). They were compared to a group of healthy control subjects (n = 43). Multivariate regression analyses were used to determine significant correlations with plasma NT-proBNP levels.ResultsNT-proBNP levels correlated negatively with LVEF (P < .001) and positively with E/Em (P = .001). Multivariate regression analysis demonstrated a significant correlation of NT-proBNP levels with LVEF (P < .001) and E/Em (P = .03).ConclusionsIn this clinically stable, ambulatory cohort of patients with cardiovascular disease and healthy control subjects, plasma NT-proBNP levels were significantly higher in those with LV systolic dysfunction and/or elevated filling pressures, independent of the effects of LV mass, renal function, and age. These results suggest that NT-proBNP levels may be a useful adjunct in the characterization of patients presenting with history and/or symptoms compatible with LV systolic and/or diastolic dysfunction.

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