Bnp?

[bethlewis]

Just wondering what the levels of BNP mean is lay man terms. I was diagnosed about 2 months ago and last week my doctor sent me for a blood test and told me my BNP levels were 330. They said that meant I had heart failure which they knew already. I don't understand what the numbers mean and if that is bad? I tried looking online and can't seem to find anything other than less than 100 is normal? Can anyone help clarify this for me?

[pniels0428]

BNP is produced by your heart. It helps tell the doctors how bad heart failure is. The harder your heart works the higher your BNP will be and the harder your heart works the worse the heart failure will be. So if your BNP is high that means you have heart failure and your heart is working harder than it should. Normal is 0-100 however I have seen them in the thousands before. Do you understand now?

[JAMESFETT]

There are several different types of BNP testing kits, and each laboratory has its own definition of "normal" so good to ask your specific lab about their normal level numbers.

The questions thread in the PPCM forum also has info about this ("Questions that PPCM patients may wish to ask their doctor."

It is helpful to follow BNP levels to monitor response to treatment, to establish normal baselines for each individual, and to monitor post-PPCM pregnancies to have some advance warning about impending relapse of heart failure.

If you are not yet at recovery levels of LVEF, and if you have a continuing elevated serum BNP, that is an indication to adjust treatment, with slow increase of ACE-I and/or BB, if tolerated, and as worked out with your cardiologist.

Best wishes,

JD

[bethlewis]

Thank you so much that makes more sense to me. The doctor told me when she called that for them normal is under 100 and over 400 was really bad so that sort of left me wondering what 330 meant although I haven't had a second echocardiogram yet in Feb I was a 30-35% EF. The doctors are trying to raise my medications slowly but my BP gets so low. Right now I am only taking Creg once a day 3.12 and Lisinoprol 5 mg once a day and of course my water pill. Thanks for the help!

[JAMESFETT]

So that level serum BNP is at least in the modest range, not so severe, and not going higher. Hopefully, you will be able to edge up the level of medications, since you are on the very low side, and lots of room to increase if you can tolerate. As you do that, I expect you will have a lot of improvement, and your BNP will drop into normal range.

JD

[bethlewis]

Thank you so much!

[Amanda]

Hi Beth I just wanted to say that where you are now...I was in the exact same spot only I couldnt take anything except coreg at the 3 mg 1x daily with out blacking out or too dizzy basically. It took me 3 years...on just that but I finally got into the 40 EF range. And now 2 years later it took me a good 3-4 weeks to adjust and feel ok on it but was switched to 10mg timed released and my EF is 45-50 now. 5 1/2 years later. So hang in there! It can improve even if it takes time! HUGS