The biomarker, NT-proBNP should be widely used in both primary care, as well as the emergency department, to more accurately diagnose patients with heart failure, claims Dr Antoni Bayes-Genis, a renowned cardiologist from Barcelona, Spain. Dr Bayes-Genis is also one of the authors of the International Consensus Statement on the use of NT-proBNP in the management of heart failure - an important issue given India will have the highest number of heart failure patients in the world by 2015.
The international panel of experts, including Dr Bayes-Genis, director of Heart Failure and Heart Transplant Unit in Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau. Barcelona, recently released a set of recommendations on the use of NT-proBNP. These recommendations, which are being discussed in India by Dr Bayes-Genis, were published in the American Journal of Cardiology. The panel concluded that NT-proBNP holds great promise as a routine screening tool in high risk populations, as well as a useful screening tool in the general population for detection of cardiac abnormalities and the prediction of future cardiovascular events, such as heart failure.
"By routinely testing people at-risk of developing heart disease for levels of NT-proBNP, doctors are able to diagnose the condition earlier and more accurately, which can have a significant impact on the long term health outcomes of patients. It enables the detection of even early stages of heart failure, a time in the disease process where there are generally no obvious symptoms," said Dr Bayes-Genis.
NT-proBNP is an inactive protein with a long half-life, thus it is more stable, and remains in the blood stream longer than other markers. This makes NT-proBNP a more sensitive test for use in the early detection and management of congestive heart failure.
"The NT-proBNP test can assist in the early diagnosis of heart failure which could reduce the incidence in the country," said Dr Bhuwnesh Agrawal, managing director and chairman of Roche Diagnostics, India.
"The understanding of heart failure is still relatively low both among the public and healthcare professionals," said Dr Bayes-Genis. "Yet early and accurate diagnosis can significantly impact treatment outcomes, and could moderate or even halt disease progression. Therefore it is important to fully utilise NT-proBNP and incorporate it into routine screening for at-risk patients. As NT-proBNP can detect even mild and moderate stages of the disease, it has been proven to be the most reliable and accurate marker to diagnose and assess a person's risk of heart failure."
NT-proBNP was approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as an objective marker for the diagnosis and prognosis of heart failure as well as the risk assessment in patients with acute coronary syndrome. It also offers strong prognostic value to help assess the increased risk of cardiovascular events and mortality in patients with stable coronary artery disease.