• Bong Gun Song, Sung-Ji Park, Eun-Seok Jeon, Soo Hee Choi, Young Keun On, Jin-Oh Choi, Sang-Chol Lee, Seung Woo Park, Duk-Kyung Kim, Jae K Oh, Ki Ick Sung, and Pyo Won Park.
• Division of Cardiology, Department of Medicine, Samsung Changwon Hospital, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Changwon, Republic of Korea.
• Int. J. Cardiol. 2010 Nov 19; 145 (2): 203-8.

BackgroundThe aim of this study was to investigate preoperative clinical and echocardiographic characteristics and N-terminal pro-B type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) levels as prognostic factors for regression of the left ventricular (LV) mass after valvular surgery in patients with chronic severe mitral regurgitation (MR).MethodsOne hundred seventeen patients undergoing surgery for chronic severe MR were included. Plasma NT-proBNP measurements and echocardiography were performed preoperatively, immediately postoperatively, and at six and 12 months after surgery. Any regression of the LV mass was evaluated by echocardiography.ResultsDuring follow-up, 90 patients (77%) were classified as an LV mass regression group (LVMR), defined as having a postoperative reduction in LV mass indexed against body surface area (LVMI). The remaining 27 (23%) patients were classified as NON-LVMR. The LVMR group was younger (p=0.029) and had significantly lower ratios of patients with hypertension (p=0.045) and diuretic use (p=0.005) than the NON-LVMR group. They also had lower levels of NT-proBNP (median: 446.4 pg/ml versus 1394.0 pg/ml, p=0.001). In multivariate analysis, higher preoperative NT-proBNP levels were independent predictors of no significant regression of the LV mass (odds ratio=1.731, 95% confidence intervals 1.052-2.844, p=0.010).ConclusionsA lower preoperative NT-proBNP level predicted the regression of LV mass after valvular surgery in patients with chronic severe MR. This measure could be used as a biomarker for predicting the postoperative course in such patients.Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

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