NT-proBNP for Heart Failure Screening in Primary Care in an Eastern European Country: What We Know and Proposed Steps

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Epidemiological studies indicate that heart failure (HF) prevalence and associated mortality are significantly higher among Eastern European countries as compared to their Western European counterparts. The significant financial burden on the healthcare system matches these sobering data. Thus, efficient programs for patients with HF have been called for. N-terminal prohormone of brain natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) represents a widely used, cost-effective, and readily available test that can be used to evaluate HF risk. However, it should not be used as a universal assessment, given the existing variability in proposed cut-off scores for various subgroups of patients. Thus, the clinical context needs to always be considered, and alternative diagnoses need to be ruled out. Based upon evidence from the literature for the above assumptions, the advantages and limitations of using NT-proBNP in primary care settings, along with other HF diagnostic modalities, are discussed in this paper. Also, this paper argues that an effective primary care network, in collaboration with specialist providers, may avoid a delay in HF diagnoses, may help provide on-time treatments, and may ultimately cut unnecessary healthcare expenditures associated with HF hospitalizations. Therefore, the present paper proposes an algorithm for diagnosing HF in primary care settings and discusses specific knowledge and skills that family physicians should be well equipped with in order to successfully respond to the needs of their patients with HF.