Mid-regional pro-atrial natriuretic peptide as a prognostic marker for all-cause mortality in patients with symptomatic coronary artery disease

In the present study, we investigated the prognostic value of MR-proANP (mid-regional pro-atrial natriuretic peptide). We consecutively evaluated a catheterization laboratory cohort of 2700 patients with symptomatic CAD (coronary artery disease) [74.1% male; ACS (acute coronary syndrome), n=1316; SAP (stable angina pectoris), n=1384] presenting to the Cardiology Department of a large primary care hospital, all of whom underwent coronary angiography. Serum MR-proANP and other laboratory markers were sampled at the time of presentation or in the catheterization laboratory. Clinical outcome was assessed by hospital chart analysis and telephone interviews. The primary end point was all-cause death at 3 months after enrolment. Follow-up data were complete in 2621 patients (97.1%). Using ROC (receiver operating characteristic) curves, the AUC (area under the curve) of 0.73 [95% CI (confidence interval), 0.67–0.79] for MR-proANP was significantly higher compared with 0.58 (95% CI, 0.55–0.62) for Tn-I (troponin-I; DeLong test, P=0.0024). According to ROC analysis, the optimal cut-off value of MR-proANP was at 236 pmol/l for all-cause death, which helped to find a significantly increased rate of all-cause death (n=76) at 3 months in patients with elevated baseline concentrations (≥236 pmol/l) compared with patients with a lower concentration level in Kaplan–Meier survival analysis (log rank, P<0.001). The predictive performance of MR-proANP was independent of other clinical variables or cardiovascular risk factors, and superior to that of Tn-I or other cardiac biomarkers (all: P<0.0001). MR-proANP may help in the prediction of all-cause death in patients with symptomatic CAD. Further studies should verify its prognostic value and confirm the appropriate cut-off value.