Blood test levels linked to right-sided heart failure in dogs

Abstract

The clinical utility of plasma natriuretic peptide concentrations in dogs with right-sided congestive heart failure (CHF) remains unclear. We investigated whether plasma levels of atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP) and N-terminal pro B-type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) are useful for assessing the congestive signs of right-sided heart failure in dogs. This retrospective study enrolled 16 healthy dogs and 51 untreated dogs with presence (n=28) or absence (n=23) of right-sided CHF. Medical records of physical examinations, thoracic radiography and echocardiography were reviewed. The plasma concentration of canine ANP was measured with a chemiluminescent enzyme immunoassay. Plasma NT-proBNP concentrations were determined using an enzyme immunoassay. Plasma ANP and NT-proBNP concentrations in dogs with right-sided CHF were significantly higher than in healthy controls and those without right-sided CHF. The plasma NT-proBNP concentration >3,003 pmol/l used to identify right-sided CHF had a sensitivity of 88.5% and specificity of 90.3%. An area under the ROC curve (AUC) was 0.93. The AUC for NT-proBNP was significantly higher than the AUCs for the cardiothoracic ratio, vertebral heart score, ratio of right ventricular end-diastolic internal diameter to body surface area, tricuspid late diastolic flow and ratio of the velocities of tricuspid early to late diastolic flow. These results suggest that plasma ANP and NT-proBNP concentrations increase markedly in dogs with right-sided CHF. Particularly, NT-proBNP is simple and helpful biomarkers to assess the right-sided CHF.