Serum Levels of proBNP in Patients with Acute Attack of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease with and without Heart Failure

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is one of the most common respiratory disorders. Various studies have been conducted to evaluate the predictive power of proBNP (pro-brain natriuretic peptide) in heart diseases. The aim of this study was to compare the serum level of proBNP in patients with acute attack of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease with and without heart failure.

This cross-sectional study was conducted on 112 patients who presented to the Adalatian Emergency Department of Imam Reza Hospital of Mashhad University of Medical Sciences in 2016 and 2017. The serum level of proBNP was measured. Patients were subjected to echocardiography and Ejection Fraction evaluation by an experienced cardiologist using the image point HX echocardiography device. Finally, patients with and without heart failure were compared using SPSS version 16 software.

75 patients (66.96%) did not have heart failure and 37 patients (33.04%) had heart failure. Basic characteristics including age, gender, smoking, and drug abuse were not significantly different between the two groups. However, the average number of hospitalizations was 3.2 ± 1.6 in patients with heart failure and 1.7 ± 0.8 in those without heart failure (P=0.001). The average proBNP level in patients with heart failure (16702.1 ± 6660.0 pg/dL) was significantly higher than that of patients without heart failure (1396.8 ± 161.2 pg/dL) (P=0.001).

The level of proBNP is significantly higher in COPD patients with heart failure, and the number of hospitalizations is also significantly higher in these patients.