Plasma B-type natriuretic peptide levels in chronic heart failure

The authors conducted a retrospective analysis of 662 consecutive patients with chronic systolic heart failure seen at their clinic to determine the prevalence of patients with plasma B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP) levels less than 100 pg/mL. They demonstrated that in as many as 21% of patients with symptomatic heart failure, plasma BNP levels were below those considered to be diagnostic (< 100 pg/mL). It is prudent, therefore, to recognize that the utility of BNP is specific to the clinical context and to the patient population being tested.