Objective: To assess the changes of B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP) levels during noninvasive ventilation in treating acute left heart failure.
Methods: Totally 28 patients with acute left heart failure were randomly assigned to group A (n = 13; without non-invasive ventilation) and group B (n = 15; undergoing non-invasive ventilation). Another 10 healthy adults were enrolled as the normal control group. Plasma BNP were obtained with ELISA before treatment and 3 and 7 hours after treatment.
Results: The plasma BNP levels were significantly higher in group A and group B than in the normal control group before treatment (P< 0.01). Three and 7 hours after treatment, the plasma BNP levels was significantly higher in group A than in the normal control group (P<0.05), while it was significantly lower in group B than in group A (P<0.05, P<0.01).
Conclusion: The plasma BNP level remarkably decreases in patients undergo non-invasive ventilation, suggesting that the plasma BNP level decreases along with the improvement of cardiac function.