N-terminal-pro brain natriuretic peptide in assessing the severity of stable coronary artery disease

Introduction: Coronary Artery Disease (CAD) occurs due to atherosclerosis which results in progressive narrowing of coronary artery lumen. N-Terminal pro Brain Natriuretic Peptide (NT-proBNP) has been used as a marker of heart failure. However, its role in stable coronary artery disease without left ventricular dysfunction is limited. Aim: To measure and compare the serum NT-proBNP levels in stable coronary artery patients and controls and to correlate serum NT-proBNP levels with severity of CAD. Materials and Methods: The present study was conducted in Department of Biochemistry in collaboration with Department of Cardiology Kasturba Medical College, Manipal after the approval from Institutional Ethics Committee. A written consent was obtained from 86 study subjects (controls 36, cases 50). Serum NT-proBNP was measured using ELISA kit. Severity of CAD was graded by angiogram based Gensini scoring system. Mann-Whitney U-tests and spearman’s correlations were used. Serum NT-proBNP was expressed in median and interquartile range. The p-value<0.05 was considered to be significant. Results: Median values of serum NT-proBNP levels in cases (151.9 pg/mL) were significantly higher as compared to that of controls (99.31 pg/mL), (p<0.001). There was a significant positive correlation of serum NT-proBNP with the respective Gensini scores in patients with stable coronary artery disease (r=0.263, p=0.014). Conclusion: As Serum NT-proBNP levels were significantly associated with severity of stable CAD without left ventricular dysfunction, it can be a potential tool in effective management of stable CAD.