Elevated levels of brain natriuretic peptide as a predictor of impaired coronary endothelial function in patients...

Plasma levels of brain natriuretic peptide (BNP) correlate with left ventricular remodeling, but the relationship between BNP induction and coronary function remains unclear.

The present study assessed BNP production in response to left ventricular enlargement and investigated the relationship between BNP production and coronary vasodilating function in patients with left ventricular remodeling.

Patients (n = 63) with normal or mildly diseased coronary arteries underwent Doppler flow study of the left anterior descending coronary artery. Vascular reactivity was examined using intracoronary acetylcholine, papaverine and nitroglycerin using a Doppler guidewire.

Left ventricular end-diastolic dimension was positively correlated with BNP (r = 0.45, p < 0.001) in all patients. BNP was significantly and inversely correlated with percentage change in coronary artery diameter induced by acetylcholine (r = -0.56, p < 0.001) but not by nitroglycerin (r = -0.20, p = 0.28) in patients with left ventricular end-diastolic dimension > or = 55 mm (n = 32). By contrast, BNP was not significantly correlated with percentage change in coronary artery diameter induced by either acetylcholine or nitroglycerin in patients with left ventricular end-diastolic dimension < 55 mm (n = 31). Further, BNP was not correlated with the percentage change in coronary blood flow induced by acetylcholine or by papaverine in patients with or without left ventricular remodeling.

The elevation in plasma BNP levels that occurs in association with left ventricular enlargement is a predictor of impaired endothelium-dependent vasodilation in conductance coronary arteries.