B-Type Natriuretic Peptide Levels Predict Ventricular Arrhythmia Post Left Ventricular Assist Device Implantation

• Published in: Artificial organs 2015-12, Vol.39 (12), p.1051-1055
• Main Authors: Hellman, Yaron, Malik, Adnan S., Lin, Hongbo, Shen, Changyu, Wang, I-Wen, Wozniak, Thomas C., Hashmi, Zubair A., Pickrell, Jeanette, Jani, Milena, Caccamo, Marco A., Gradus-Pizlo, Irmina, Hadi, Azam
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: B-type natriuretic peptide; Biomarkers - blood; Cardiac arrhythmia; Female; Heart attacks; Heart failure; Heart Failure - blood; Heart Failure - diagnosis; Heart Failure - physiopathology; Heart Failure - therapy; Heart-Assist Devices - adverse effects; Humans; Indiana; Left ventricular assist device; Logistic Models; Male; Middle Aged; Multivariate Analysis; Natriuretic Peptide, Brain - blood; Proportional Hazards Models; Prosthesis Design; Retrospective Studies; Risk Factors; Tachycardia, Ventricular - diagnosis; Tachycardia, Ventricular - etiology; Tachycardia, Ventricular - physiopathology; Time Factors; Treatment Outcome; Ventricular arrhythmia; Ventricular fibrillation; Ventricular Fibrillation - diagnosis; Ventricular Fibrillation - etiology; Ventricular Fibrillation - physiopathology; Ventricular Function, Left; Ventricular tachycardia
• ISSN: 0160-564X; 1525-1594
• DOI: 10.1111/aor.12486

B‐type natriuretic peptide (BNP) levels have been shown to predict ventricular arrhythmia (VA) and sudden death in patients with heart failure. We sought to determine whether BNP levels before left ventricular assist device (LVAD) implantation can predict VA post LVAD implantation in advanced heart failure patients. We conducted a retrospective study consisting of patients who underwent LVAD implantation in our institution during the period of May 2009–March 2013. The study was limited to patients receiving a HeartMate II or HeartWare LVAD. Acute myocardial infarction patients were excluded. We compared between the patients who developed VA within 15 days post LVAD implantation to the patients without VA. A total of 85 patients underwent LVAD implantation during the study period. Eleven patients were excluded (five acute MI, four without BNP measurements, and two discharged earlier than 13 days post LVAD implantation). The incidence of VA was 31%, with 91% ventricular tachycardia (VT) and 9% ventricular fibrillation. BNP remained the single most powerful predictor of VA even after adjustment for other borderline significant factors in a multivariate logistic regression model (P