Published on March 24, 2011 at 4:27 AM
More than 250,000 patients undergo coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery each year in the United States. New research in the April issue of Anesthesiology examines whether the hormone plasma B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP) helps indicate which patients are at risk of adverse cardiac events after CABG surgery.
BNP is secreted primarily by the muscle cells of the pumping chambers in the heart as a response to increased stress. Elevated levels of postoperative BNP during the first several days after CABG surgery is known to be associated with increased mortality. However, the current research analyzed whether BNP is also associated with poorer long-term physical function (ability to do chores, exercise, climb stairs and lie flat comfortably).
Source: The American Society of Anesthesiologists