C-type natriuretic peptide and its relation to non-invasive indices of left ventricular function in patients with chronic heart failure

C-type natriuretic peptide (CNP) significantly increases in chronic heart failure (CHF)patients as a function of clinical severity. Aim of this study was to evaluate in CHF patients the relationship between circulating CNP concentrations and echo-Doppler conventional indices of left ventricular (LV) function as well as less load independent parameters as dP/dt. LV ejection fraction (EF), left ventricular end-diastolic dimension (LVEDD) and LV dP/dt were evaluated together with plasma CNP levels in 38 patients with CHF and in 63 controls. CNP levels resulted significantly higher in CHF patients than in controls (7.19 0.59 pg/ml vs. 2.52 0.12 pg/ml, p 0.0001). A significant correlation between dP/dt and CNP levels (r 600, n = 13): 8.46 0.69 and 4.75 0.75 pg/ml, respectively, p 0.001. This is the first study that reports a correlation between CNP and dP/ dt in CHF patients, thus suggesting a possible role on cardiac contractility.