With the aging of the population, the frequency of acute myocardial infarction is rising most rapidly among the elderly, a subgroup at high risk of a fatal outcome. Lorgis et al. observe that N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide, combined with a simple clinical risk score, provides an accurate estimate of prognosis.
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution
Access options
Subscribe to this journal
Receive 12 print issues and online access
$209.00 per year
only $17.42 per issue
Buy this article
- Purchase on Springer Link
- Instant access to full article PDF
Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout
References
Tahir, S. M., Price, L. L., Shah, P. B. & Welt, F. G. P. Eighteen year (1985–2002) analysis of incidence, mortality, and cardiac procedure outcomes of acute myocardial infarction in patients >65 years of age. Am. J. Cardiol. 101, 930–936 (2008).
Lorgis, L. et al. Prognostic value of N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide in elderly people with acute myocardial infarction: prospective observational study. BMJ 338, b1605 (2009).
Braunwald, E. Biomarkers in heart failure. N. Engl. J. Med. 358, 2148–2159 (2008).
Moe, G. W., Howlett, J., Januzzi, J. L. & Zowall, H. N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide testing improves the management of patients with suspected acute heart failure. Primary results of the Canadian prospective randomized multicenter IMPROVE-CHF study. Circulation 115, 3103–3110 (2007).
Logeart, D. et al. Predischarge B-type natriuretic peptide assay for identifying patients at high risk of re-admission after decompensated heart failure. J. Am. Coll. Cardiol. 43, 635–641 (2004).
de Lemos, J. A. et al. The prognostic value of B-type natriuretic peptide in patients with acute coronary syndromes. N. Engl. J. Med. 345, 1014–1021 (2001).
Richards, A. M. et al. B-type natriuretic peptides and ejection fraction for prognosis after myocardial infarction. Circulation 107, 2786–2792 (2003).
Sayama, H., Nakamura, Y., Saito, N. & Kinoshita, M. Why is the concentration of plasma brain natriuretic peptide in elderly inpatients greater than normal? Coron. Artery Dis. 10, 537–540 (1999).
Kistorp, C. et al. N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide, C-reactive protein, and urinary albumin levels as predictors of mortality and cardiovascular events in older adults. JAMA 293, 1609–1616 (2005).
Fox, K. A. et al. Prediction of risk of death and myocardial infarction in the six months after presentation with acute coronary syndrome: prospective multinational observational study (GRACE). BMJ 333, 1091 (2006).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Competing interests
The author declares no competing financial interests.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Braunwald, E. BNP measurement predicts AMI risk in the elderly. Nat Rev Cardiol 6, 503–504 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1038/nrcardio.2009.118
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nrcardio.2009.118