The association of the N-terminal pro-brain-type natriuretic peptide response to exercise with disease severity in therapy-naive pulmonary arterial hypertension: a cohort study

BACKGROUND: While the N-terminal pro-brain-type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) at rest is known to be associated with prognosis in pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH), it is unclear if the NT-proBNP response to exercise (ΔNT-proBNP) can contribute to a better assessment of disease severity. METHODS: We investigated the association of NT-proBNP values at rest and during peak exercise with hemodynamics and cardiopulmonary exercise testing parameters in 63 therapy-naive PAH patients. RESULTS: The median NT-proBNP increases from 1414 at rest to 1500 pg/ml at peak exercise. The ΔNT-proBNP is baseline-dependent in PAH. Both, NT-proBNP at rest and NT-proBNP at peak exercise, are significantly correlated with hemodynamics and functional capacity. However, neither NT-proBNP at peak exercise nor ΔNT-proBNP correlated better with surrogate markers of disease severity than NT-proBNP at rest. CONCLUSION: The ΔNT-proBNP does not contribute to a better assessment of disease severity in PAH. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (10.1186/s12931-017-0712-9) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.