Clinicians are increasingly using biochemical markers of disease to help diagnose and monitor disease states. Might B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP) become the same to heart failure as thyroid function tests are to hypothyroidism?

BNP is a 32 amino acid peptide secreted chiefly from the cardiac ventricles in response to ventricular strain. On secretion, proBNP, the storage form of BNP, is cleaved into the inactive N-terminal-proBNP and the endocrinologically active BNP. The active moiety promotes natriuresis, diuresis, and vasodilatation. The blood concentration of BNP is raised in patients with cardiac disease, particularly those with heart failure.

Both plasma BNP and NT-proBNP can be rapidly measured by radioimmunoassay or immunoradiometric assay from an EDTA blood sample. Reliable near patient testing is also just around the corner. These technical advances have made the use of BNP in routine practice a much more practical proposal.