N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide and long-term mortality in acute coronary syndromes

B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP) is a predictor of short- and medium-term prognosis across the spectrum of acute coronary syndromes (ACS). The N-terminal fragment of the BNP prohormone, N-BNP, may be an even stronger prognostic marker. We assessed the relation between subacute plasma N-BNP levels and long-term, all-cause mortality in a large, contemporary cohort of patients with ACS.

Blood samples for N-BNP determination were obtained in the subacute phase in 204 patients with ST-elevation myocardial infarction (MI): 220 with non-ST segment elevation MI and 185 with unstable angina in the subacute phase. After a median follow-up of 51 months, 86 patients (14%) had died. Median N-BNP levels were significantly lower in long-term survivors than in patients dying (442 versus 1306 pmol/L; P<0.0001). The unadjusted risk ratio of patients with supramedian N-BNP levels was 3.9 (95% confidence interval, 2.4 to 6.5). In a multivariate Cox regression model, N-BNP (risk ratio 2.1 [95% confidence interval, 1.1 to 3.9]) added prognostic information above and beyond Killip class, patient age, and left ventricular ejection fraction. Adjustment for peak troponin T levels did not markedly alter the relation between N-BNP and mortality. In patients with no evidence of clinical heart failure, N-BNP remained a significant predictor of mortality after adjustment for age and ejection fraction (risk ratio, 2.4 [95% confidence interval, 1.1 to 5.4]).

N-BNP is a powerful indicator of long-term mortality in patients with ACS and provides prognostic information above and beyond conventional risk markers.