BNP and ANP as diagnostic and predictive markers in heart failure with left ventricular systolic dysfunction.

What Was Tested

This randomized controlled trial looks at Captopril.

To investigate the relationship between the levels of B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP) and A-type natriuretic peptide (ANP) and the clinical and functional parameters of CHF in outpatients with CHF at baseline, compared with normal healthy controls; to find out the differences in a randomised controlled trial between patients treated with an angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitor, captopril, or an angiotensin receptor blocker (ARB), irbesartan.

These differences were assessed throughout the six-month treatment period and at the sixth month.

Why It Was Studied

Plasma natriuretic peptides have been envisaged as diagnostic and predictive markers.

Who Took Part

The study group was 68 patients.

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

The patient group was randomly subdivided into two subgroups of 34 patients, each treated with either an ARB, irbesartan, or an ACE inhibitor (ACE-I), captopril.

How the Study Was Run

In design terms this was a randomized study.

The patients were allocated by chance, so the Captopril group and the comparison group should start out alike.

Statistical analysis for BNP and ANP was done by Students t-test.

What Was Measured

PubMed files the paper under topics including Angiotensin II Type 1 Receptor Blockers, Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme Inhibitors, Atrial Natriuretic Factor, Biomarkers, Biphenyl Compounds, Captopril and Cardiac Output, Low.

What This Means in Plain Language

The paper is a randomized study of Captopril in 68 patients.

Results are reported in around 11 sentences of the abstract; we leave them to the paper itself rather than summarise them.

The publication is from 2004 (Journal of the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system : JRAAS), a journal based in England.

More context: all human trials.