Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
NT-proBNP blood test not reliable for early heart disease in Maine
By Singh, Manreet K et al.·Published in Journal of feline medicine and surgery·2010·Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital, United States·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: NT-proBNP measurement fails to reliably identify subclinical hypertrophic cardiomyopathy in Maine Coon cats.
- Species:
- cat
Plain-English summary
A group of Maine Coon cats with varying levels of heart disease were tested for a substance called NT-proBNP to see if it could help identify those with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM), a condition where the heart muscle thickens. While cats with severe HCM had higher levels of NT-proBNP, the test was not very reliable, missing many cases of severe disease and failing to detect mild to moderate HCM altogether. This means that NT-proBNP is not a good screening tool for this heart condition in Maine Coons.
People also search for: Maine Coon heart disease symptoms · cat hypertrophic cardiomyopathy diagnosis · NT-proBNP test for cats
Abstract
The purpose of this study was to evaluate the value of measuring plasma NT-proBNP concentration as a screening tool in cats with varying severity of subclinical hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM). Plasma NT-proBNP concentration was measured in 35 cats that had previously been classified as normal, equivocal, moderate HCM or severe HCM via echocardiography. No cat had ever been in congestive heart failure. Cats with severe HCM had a significantly higher NT-proBNP concentration compared to the other groups (P<0.0003), however, the sensitivity of NT-proBNP for diagnosing cats with severe disease was only 44% (cutoff≤100pmol/l) to 55% (cutoff≤40pmol/l). There was no significant difference in NT-proBNP concentration between normal, equivocal and moderate categories (sensitivity for detecting moderate HCM was 0%). Based on the results of this study, NT-proBNP concentration is not considered adequate as a screening test for detecting mild to moderate HCM in Maine Coon cats and it appears that it may miss many cats with severe HCM.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21036088/