This Article Abstract Full Text Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Schnabel, R. Articles by Blankenberg, S. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Schnabel, R. Articles by Blankenberg, S.

B-Type Natriuretic Peptide and the Risk of Cardiovascular Events and Death in Patients With Stable Angina

Results From the AtheroGene Study

Renate Schnabel, MD^_*,_*, Edith Lubos, MD^_*, Hans J. Rupprecht, MD^_*, Christine Espinola-Klein, MD^_*, Christoph Bickel, MD, Karl J. Lackner, MD, François Cambien, MD, Laurence Tiret, PhD, Thomas Münzel, MD, FAHA^_* and Stefan Blankenberg, MD^_*

^_* Department of Medicine II
Department of Clinical Chemistry and Laboratory Medicine, Johannes Gutenberg University, Mainz, Germany
INSERM U525, Faculté de Médecine Pitié-Salpétrière, Paris, France
Innere Abteilung, Bundeswehrzentralkrankenhaus, Koblenz, Germany

View larger version (21K): [in a new window]   Figure 1 Kaplan-Meier curves showing the cumulative incidence of cardiovascular events during follow-up according to quartiles of BNP plasma levels. Quartile ranges: Q1 <11.84; Q2 11.84 to 38.30; Q3 38.30 to 100.35; Q4 >100.35 pg/ml. BNP = B-type natriuretic peptide.

View larger version (9K): [in a new window]   Figure 2 Hazard ratio and 95 percent confidence interval (CI) of cardiovascular events associated with BNP concentrations above a chosen cut-off value of 100 pg/ml, the border of the upper quartile in this cohort being 100.35 pg/ml. Adjustment was performed in four consecutive models as outlined. The traditional risk factors (RFs) (models 2 to 4) comprised age, gender, a history of hypertension, diabetes, smoking status, body mass index, and high-density lipoprotein (the last two parameters entered the model as continuous variables). Presence of multivessel disease and therapy with angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors and statins entered the Cox regression analysis as clinical variables (models 2 to 4). BNP = B-type natriuretic peptide; CRP = C-reactive protein; EF = angiographically determined left ventricular ejection fraction.

View larger version (10K): [in a new window]   Figure 3 Hazard ratio associated with an increase of one standard deviation in the outlined variables. Model 1 is adjusted for age and gender. Model 2 additionally includes traditional risk factors (a history of hypertension, diabetes, smoking status, body mass index, and high density lipoprotein as continuous parameter) and clinical variables (multivessel disease and therapy with angiotensin-converting-enzyme inhibitors and statins). In addition, the adjusted areas under the receiver operating characteristics curve (AUC) are provided for the four variables assessed in the Cox regression model. It has to be noted that the final model included only 767 patients because of missing data for ejection fraction and C-reactive protein. Abbreviations as in Figure 2.