B-type natriuretic peptide in acute pulmonary embolism

Myocardial stretch leads to the natriuretic peptides release in acute or chronic left ventricular dysfunction. However, there is an accumulating evidence that B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP) and its N-terminal fragment (NT-proBNP) may originate from right ventricle and their concentrations are elevated in patients with acute pulmonary embolism (APE) especially when resulting in right ventricular dysfunction (RVD). Recently it is underlined that severity assessment of APE as well as the risk stratification and therapy selection is based both on patients' hemodynamic status and markers of myocardial injury and RVD. BNP and NT-proBNP are helpful in identifying patients with RVD in APE, emerging as an adjunctive tool to echocardiography. Elevated BNP or NT-proBNP levels are also significant predictors of death and/or complicated clinical course in APE.