Abstract
Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HC) is associated frequently with heart failure symptoms and diastolic dysfunction. Although the influence of brain natriuretic peptide (BNP) levels in the management of patients with systolic dysfunction is evolving, there are few data on the role of BNP in the management of patients with HC. BNP was compared with clinical and echocardiographic variables, including measures of diastolic filling, in 217 patients with HC. BNP values were correlated with New York Heart Association classification, echocardiographic estimates of diastolic filling pressure, and right ventricular systolic pressure even after adjusting for age, gender, renal function, and body habitus. However, the overlap of the BNP levels in these respective categories was notable. BNP values did not correlate with objective measures of exercise capacity, and serial BNP values did not track changes in clinical status. In conclusion, BNP levels in patients with HC are associated with similar subjective and objective measures as have been observed in patients with left ventricular systolic dysfunction, but these correlations are relatively weak and do not allow the precise characterization of clinical status.
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