Increased serum N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide levels in patients with medial arterial calcification and poorly compressible leg arteries.

OBJECTIVE

To determine whether serum levels of N-terminal (NT) pro-B-type natriuretic peptide (pro-BNP) are higher in patients with poorly compressible arteries (PCA) than in patients with peripheral artery disease (PAD) and control subjects without PCA or PAD.

METHODS AND

RESULTS

Medial arterial calcification in the lower extremities results in PCA and may be associated with increased arterial stiffness and hemodynamic/myocardial stress. PCA was defined as having an ankle-brachial index >1.4 or an ankle blood pressure >255 mm Hg, whereas PAD was defined as having an ankle-brachial index ≤0.9. Study participants with PCA (n=100; aged 71±10 years; 70% men) and age- and sex-matched patients with PAD (n=300) were recruited from the noninvasive vascular laboratory. Age- and sex-matched controls (n=300) were identified from a community-based cohort and had no history of PAD. NT pro-BNP levels were approximately 2.5-fold higher in patients with PCA than in patients with PAD and approximately 4-fold higher than in age- and sex-matched controls. In multivariable regression analyses that adjusted for age, sex, smoking, hypertension, history of coronary heart disease/stroke, systolic blood pressure, and serum creatinine, NT pro-BNP levels remained significantly higher in patients with PCA than in patients with PAD and controls (P<0.001).

CONCLUSIONS

Patients with medial arterial calcification and PCA have higher serum levels of NT pro-BNP than patients with PAD and controls, which is suggestive of an adverse hemodynamic milieu and increased risk for adverse cardiovascular outcomes.