Ventricular hypertrophy increases NT-proBNP in subjects with and without hypertension

BACKGROUND: It has been published that hypertension (HT) must be taken into account when using NT-proBNP, but left ventricular (LV) hypertrophy without HT could be a cause of NT-proBNP elevation. In a population study we compared NT-proBNP in subjects with hypertrophy, with and without diagnosis of HT. METHODS: We studied 215 subjects from a random sample of 432 people who had declared to suffer from dyspnea. These 432 subjects were referred to their hospital where blood samples were taken, an echo-Doppler study was performed and a specific questionnaire was completed. We got a positive answer from 215, and 52 (24%) have LV hypertrophy. RESULTS: When we compared NT-proBNP in non-hypertrophic population, 148 +/- 286 pg/ml, with NT-proBNP in LV hypertrophic population, 202 +/- 209 pg/ml, we found P < 0.001. In the hypertrophic group, when we compared NT-proBNP (199 +/- 201 pg/ml) in normotensive subjects (LV mass index 170 +/- 70 g/m2, Vp 50 +/- 18 cm/s, LVEF 62 +/- 8) with NT-proBNP (205 +/- 220 pg/ml) in subjects with diagnosis of HT (LV mass index 169 +/- 37 g/m2, Vp 55 +/- 20 cm/s, LVEF 64 +/- 10), we found NS. CONCLUSIONS: This population study shows that NT-proBNP is elevated in patients with LV hypertrophy with or without HT. In LV hypertrophy the presence of HT does not influence the peptide levels significantly.