Effects of intravenous atrial natriuretic peptide on cardiac sympathetic nerve activity in patients with decompensated congestive heart failure

What Was Tested

This randomized controlled trial paper looks at ANP (Atrial Natriuretic Peptide).

Atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP), a circulating hormone of cardiac origin, has vasodilatory and diuretic properties and can inhibit the RAAS.

However, its effect on cardiac sympathetic nerve activity has not been determined.

Who Took Part

The study group was 58 patients.

By PubMed's age tags, the people studied were middle-aged adults and older adults, both men and women.

Twenty-nine patients (group A) were assigned to also receive intravenous ANP, whereas the remaining 29 patients (group B) continued their established drug regimen.

The left ventricular end-diastolic volume and ejection fraction were determined by echocardiography before and 4 wk after treatment.

How the Study Was Run

The researchers set it up as a randomized study.

Random assignment meant chance, not the researchers, decided who got ANP (Atrial Natriuretic Peptide) and who got the comparison, which limits bias.

The dopamine or ANP was continuously infused for >96 h.

The delayed heart-to-mediastinum (H/M) count ratio, delayed total defect score, and washout rate were determined from (123)I-metaiodobenzylguanidine (MIBG) images 3 wk after treatment.

What Was Measured

The subject headings attached to it are 3-Iodobenzylguanidine, Atrial Natriuretic Factor, Cardiotonic Agents, Dopamine, Drug Combinations, Furosemide and Heart.

What This Means in Plain Language

The paper is a randomized study of ANP (Atrial Natriuretic Peptide) in 58 patients.

Results are reported in around 7 sentences of the abstract; we leave them to the paper itself rather than summarise them.

The publication is from 2004 (Journal of nuclear medicine : official publication, Society of Nuclear Medicine), a journal based in United States.

More context: the ANP (Atrial Natriuretic Peptide) compound page, all human trials.