Arq. Bras. Cardiol. 2024; 121(8): e20230910

Natriuretic Peptides and Heart Stress: Time to Screen the Asymptomatic High-Risk Population to Prevent Incident Heart Failure?

Humberto Villacorta , Davyson Gerhardt de Souza, Antonio José Lagoeiro Jorge

DOI: 10.36660/abc.20230910i

Heart failure (HF) is the final common pathway of many cardiac disorders. It is highly prevalent, especially in the elderly, and has high morbidity and mortality if not treated properly.^– Although the treatment of HF has evolved, the number of affected individuals is still large and represents a burden on the healthcare system, globally and also in Brazil.^, The number of cases is expected to increase over the coming decades, due to the aging of the population and increased survival from cardiovascular conditions, such as acute coronary syndromes, valvular heart diseases, arrhythmias, congenital heart diseases, among others. Therefore, it is imperative to prevent HF.

Natriuretic peptides – BNP and NT-proBNP – are the gold standard biomarkers in HF.^– It was used to diagnose HF in patients with Acute Dyspnea.^– It was soon demonstrated that they were also excellent prognostic markers in patients with acute HF.^, Its use was then expanded to outpatients with HF, being recommended in the main guidelines for ruling out ambulatory HF in patients with symptoms suggestive of HF and also as a prognostic marker.^–

[…]