Can brain natriuretic peptide predict cardiovascular complications in severe preeclampsia A case-control study

Background: Preeclampsia is one of the most common pregnancy complications,which is one of the major causes of fetal and maternal mortality.Objective: To compare the serum Brain Natriuretic Peptide (BNP) level in patients withsevere preeclampsia and normal pregnancy and investigate associated cardiovascularcomplications.Materials and Methods: This case-control study was performed on 94 women witha singleton pregnancy (severe preeclampsia and normal pregnancy) at Imam RezaHospital in Mashhad, Iran. The venous blood samples were collected to evaluate theserum BNP level. All patients were subjected to echocardiography performed by asingle cardiologist.Results: The mean pro-BNP levels were 480.36 ± 754.52 and 67.46 ± 106.24 pg/dLin the severe preeclampsia and normal pregnancy patients, respectively (p < 0.001).However, adjusted BNP for maternal and gestational age was not different in thetwo groups (ANCOVA, p = 0.69). Furthermore, the two study groups showed nosignificant difference in terms of the cardiac parameters, including ejection fraction (EF),left ventricle end-diastolic and -systolic diameters (LVEDD and LVESD, respectively),tricuspid annular plane systolic excursion (TAPSE), and ratio of the early transmitralflow velocity to the early diastolic tissue velocity (E/Em). However, the serum BNP levelshowed a significant correlation with EF (r = -0.39, p = 0.008), TAPSE (r = -0.47, p =0.001), and E/Em ratio (r = 0.48, p = 0.001) in patients with severe preeclampsia.Conclusion: It seems that BNP can be used as a predictor for some of the main cardiacfunctional indices (i.e., E/Em, EF, and TAPSE) in severe preeclampsia patients.

Can brain natriuretic peptide predict cardiovascular complications in severe preeclampsia A case-control study Keywords:

Brain natriuretic peptide , Echocardiography , Stroke volume , Preeclampsia , Pregnancy