Baseline clinical characteristics according to the terciles of BNP levels
| Clinical variables | Tercile 1 (4–72.9 pg/ml) | Tercile 2 (73.0–247 pg/ml) | Tercile 3 (247.1–2390 pg/ml) | p Value for trend |
| No of patients | 147 | 148 | 147 | |
| Age (SD) | 59 (12) | 66 (11) | 69 (10) | <0.001 |
| Male sex, n (%) | 112 (76) | 99 (67) | 88 (59) | 0.009 |
| Medical history, n (%) | ||||
| History of hypertension | 58 (39) | 66 (45) | 81 (55) | 0.028 |
| Type 2 diabetes | 16 (11) | 18 (12) | 25 (17) | 0.290 |
| Hypercholesterolaemia | 31 (21) | 38 (26) | 20 (14) | 0.032 |
| Smoker | 52 (35) | 53 (36) | 44 (30) | 0.465 |
| Previous MI | 26 (18) | 27 (18) | 30 (20) | 0.864 |
| Known CAD | 48 (33) | 46 (31) | 57 (39) | 0.364 |
| Index diagnosis, n (%) | ||||
| STEMI | 20 (14) | 47 (32) | 51 (34) | <0.001 |
| NSTEMI/unstable angina | 127 (86) | 101 (68) | 97 (65) | <0.001 |
| Physical findings, n (%) | ||||
| Systolic BP, mm Hg (SD) | 135 (24) | 132 (22) | 131 (26) | 0.485 |
| Killip class II, III or IV (%) | 1 (0.7) | 10 (7) | 35 (24) | <0.001 |
| Diagnostic tests, n (%) | ||||
| Haemoglobin (g/dl) (SD) | 14.6 (1.7) | 13.9 (1.9) | 13.5 (2.0) | <0.001 |
| eGFR (ml/min) (SD) | 71 (15) | 63 (16) | 60 (17) | <0.001 |
| Troponin-T (μg/ml) (SD) | 0.62 (1.90) | 1.80 (2.94) | 2.13 (3.65) | <0.001 |
| ST deviation >0.5 mm on ECG | 54 (37) | 72 (49) | 87 (59) | <0.001 |
| Echo parameters | ||||
| LVSD, n (%) | 11 (8) | 26 (18) | 78 (53) | <0.001 |
| GRACE score (points) (SD) | 113 (33) | 137 (29) | 160 (38) | <0.001 |
BNP, B-type natriuretic peptide; BP, blood pressure; CAD, coronary artery disease; eGFR, estimated glomerular filtration rate; GRACE, Global Registry of Acute Coronary Events; LVSD, left ventricular systolic dysfunction; MI, myocardial infarction; NSTEMI, non-ST segment elevation myocardial infarction; STEMI, ST elevation myocardial infarction.