Prognostic value of N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide in patients with chronic stable angina.

Patients with chronic stable angina are poorly characterized in terms of biomarkers that help in the assessment of prognosis. We investigated whether plasma levels of N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) may be used as a prognostic marker in patients with chronic stable angina treated with coronary stenting.Plasma levels of NT-proBNP were measured in 1059 patients with chronic stable angina and coronary angiographic confirmation of significant coronary artery disease. The primary end point of the study was mortality. After a median of 3.6 years (interquartile range, 3.3 to 4.5 years), there were 106 deaths. Kaplan-Meier estimates of 5-year mortality were 4.7% in the first quartile, 7.8% in the second quartile, 11.4% in the third quartile, and 32.7% in the fourth quartile of NT-proBNP (P<0.001). A Cox proportional hazards model showed that NT-proBNP was the strongest correlate of mortality (adjusted hazards ratio [HR], 5.83 [95% confidence interval: 2.07 to 16.44] for the fourth versus the first quartile). A similar prognostic value of NT-proBNP was demonstrated for cardiovascular mortality (HR, 5.98 [1.55 to 23.13] for the fourth versus the first quartile) and for patients with New York Heart Association class I and II (HR, 6.03 [2.07 to 17.52] for the fourth versus the first quartile).Circulating levels of NT-proBNP are a strong prognostic biomarker for patients with chronic stable angina.