Ricerc@Sapienza

Atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP) is a cardiac hormone belonging to the family of natriuretic peptides (NPs). ANP exerts diuretic, natriuretic, and vasodilatory effects that contribute to maintain water–salt balance and regulate blood pressure. Besides these systemic properties, ANP displays important pleiotropic effects in the heart and in the vascular system that are independent of blood pressure regulation. These functions occur through autocrine and paracrine mechanisms.

The management of mitral valve regurgitation (MR), a common valve disease, represents a challenge in clinical practice, since the indication for either surgical or percutaneous valve replacement or repair are guided by symptoms and by echocardiographic parameters which are not always feasible. In this complex scenario, the use of natriuretic peptide (NP) levels would serve as an additive diagnostic and prognostic tool.

Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) still represent the greatest burden on healthcare systems worldwide. Despite the enormous efforts over the last twenty years to limit the spread of cardiovascular risk factors, their prevalence is growing and control is still suboptimal. Therefore, the availability of new therapeutic tools that may interfere with different pathophysiological pathways to slow the establishment of clinical CVDs is important.

BACKGROUND:
Obesity has been suggested to confer a survival benefit in acute heart failure. The concentrations of NT-proBNP may be reduced in patients with high body mass index (BMI).

OBJECTIVES:
To investigate the relationship among BMI, NT-proBNP, and mortality risk in decompensated chronic heart failure (DCHF).

METHODS:
This was a retrospective study. We studied 1001 patients with DCHF. Hazard ratios (HR) were calculated with Cox regression analysis.