Plasma concentrations of brain natriuretic peptide in patients with acute ischemic stroke

Acute blood pressure (BP) elevation and cardiac abnormalities are known to follow ischemic stroke. Brain natriuretic peptide (BNP), which is produced in response to such cardiovascular alterations, is expected to play a hemodynamic role. We measured plasma BNP concentrations in patients with cerebral infarction (CI) to determine the implications of BNP in acute ischemic stroke.

Eighty-eight patients with CI, 59 with essential hypertension, 44 with spontaneous intracerebral hemorrhage, 22 with asymptomatic atrial fibrillation (Af), and 20 age- and sex-matched healthy volunteers were recruited in the study. CI patients were divided into 2 subgroups either having Af (27 patients) or not (61 patients). BNP levels were repeatedly measured in 58 patients with CI. BNP levels were compared between ischemic subgroups categorized by size of infarction. Correlation was investigated between BNP levels and hemodynamic parameters.

BNP levels in CI patients were significantly higher, but they decreased in the subacute period. BNP levels in CI patients without Af were correlated with mean arterial blood pressure (MAP) on admission or the degree of reduction in MAP at day 1, while in CI patients with Af BNP levels showed negative correlation with MAP on admission. Follow-up serum sodium levels in CI patients with Af were negatively correlated with BNP levels on admission.

This study suggests the hemodynamic implications of BNP in acute ischemic patients.