Table of ContentsView AllTable of ContentsMedical AbbreviationWhen It Is OrderedWhat to Expect
Table of ContentsView All
View All
Table of Contents
Medical Abbreviation
When It Is Ordered
What to Expect
If your healthcare provider suspectsheart failure, an inability of the heart to properly pump blood throughout the body, they may call for a BNP, which is an abbreviation for the hormone, brain natriuretic peptide. The BNP is a test that measures levels of this hormone in the bloodstream.
Though traces are always present during healthy cardiac function, elevated amounts of BNP in the blood implies insufficient pumping activity, the underlying cause of heart failure. This can also be a sign of other problems, such ashypertension (high blood pressure)and cardiachypertrophy(enlarged heart muscles), as well as kidney conditions.
Given how instrumental BNP is as part ofdiagnosis of heart failure, it’s important to understand what healthcare providers mean and what they’re looking for when they call for BNP.
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The BNP Blood Test
The BNP measurement is a blood test that you may see in your electronic medical records, or that your healthcare provider may discuss with you.
The BNP blood level is almost always elevated during heart failure, and can be a useful test in confirming or ruling out this condition.
When BNP Is Recommended
BNP may be part of a panel of blood tests and other types of tests employed in diagnosing the presence of and tracking the progression of heart failure.
Cardiologists will call for it when they suspect this condition but want to make sure another condition isn’t causing symptoms. In addition, this test will be employed to make sure treatments for heart failure are effective in resolving the problem.
Signs of Heart FailureBNP is called for when you’re displaying symptoms of heart failure. These include:Difficulty breathingCoughing/wheezingFatigueSwollen abdomen, legs, and/or feetNauseaLoss of appetite
Signs of Heart Failure
BNP is called for when you’re displaying symptoms of heart failure. These include:Difficulty breathingCoughing/wheezingFatigueSwollen abdomen, legs, and/or feetNauseaLoss of appetite
BNP is called for when you’re displaying symptoms of heart failure. These include:
What You Should Know About BNP
How It Is Done
BNP is part of a panel of blood assessing the composition of blood. A healthcare professional uses a needle to draw a small sample of blood from a vein, usually in the arm.
To ease sample collection, a band may be tied around the upper arm, and you may be asked to make a fist, causing your veins to pop out. Once enough blood is drawn into a tube, it’s sent to the lab for clinical testing.
What It Can Tell You
During heart failure, excess blood remains in the chambers of the heart, building up pressure. In response, the BNP hormone is released from the walls of these chambers, which helps dilate other vessels and arteries, easing this pressure.
BNP is also a biomarker, or measurable indicator, of cardiac hypertrophy, which is the abnormal growth of heart muscles. It often precedes and/or accompanies heart failure. Basically, over-development of this organ—leading to spikes in BNP levels—means that it’s struggling to properly circulate blood through the body.
Primarily, BNP has three purposes:
Concerns With Tests
There are always a few risks when it comes to drawing blood, including:
Be sure to let your healthcare provider know if you’re seeing swelling or redness, or feeling heat at the site of the blood draw, as those could be signs of infection.
BNP levels may also become elevated in a few other cases, which may sometimes indicate the presence of other conditions. These include:
BNP levels are also elevated after taking certain medications like beta-blockers.Further, increasing age, being female, and exercise in healthy individuals are also linked to higher levels.
However, because BNP elevations may be non-specific, a low BNP value is more helpful in ruling out heart failure than an elevated BNP level is helpful in diagnosing it.
7 SourcesVerywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.University of Rochester Medical Center.BNP (blood).Harvard Medical School.BNP: an important new cardiac test. Harvard Health.Okamoto R, Ali Y, Hashizume R, Suzuki N, Ito M.BNP as a major player in the heart-kidney connection.Int J Mol Sci. 2019;20(14):3581.doi:10.3390/ijms20143581Heidenreich P, Bozkurt B, Aguilar D, et al.2022 AHA/ACC/HFSA guideline for the management of heart failure.J Am Coll Cardiol. 2022;79(17):e263–e421. doi:10.1016/j.jacc.2021.12.012National Institutes of Health MedlinePlus.Natriuretic peptide tests (BNP, NT-proBNP).Habel N, du Fay de Lavallaz J, Infeld M, et al.Lower heart rates and beta-blockers are associated with new-onset atrial fibrillation.Int J Cardiol Cardiovasc Risk Prev. 2023;17:200182. Published 2023 Feb 25. doi:10.1016/j.ijcrp.2023.200182Hamasaki H.The effects of exercise on natriuretic peptides in individuals without heart failure.Sports. 2016;4(2):32. doi:10.3390/sports4020032
7 Sources
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.University of Rochester Medical Center.BNP (blood).Harvard Medical School.BNP: an important new cardiac test. Harvard Health.Okamoto R, Ali Y, Hashizume R, Suzuki N, Ito M.BNP as a major player in the heart-kidney connection.Int J Mol Sci. 2019;20(14):3581.doi:10.3390/ijms20143581Heidenreich P, Bozkurt B, Aguilar D, et al.2022 AHA/ACC/HFSA guideline for the management of heart failure.J Am Coll Cardiol. 2022;79(17):e263–e421. doi:10.1016/j.jacc.2021.12.012National Institutes of Health MedlinePlus.Natriuretic peptide tests (BNP, NT-proBNP).Habel N, du Fay de Lavallaz J, Infeld M, et al.Lower heart rates and beta-blockers are associated with new-onset atrial fibrillation.Int J Cardiol Cardiovasc Risk Prev. 2023;17:200182. Published 2023 Feb 25. doi:10.1016/j.ijcrp.2023.200182Hamasaki H.The effects of exercise on natriuretic peptides in individuals without heart failure.Sports. 2016;4(2):32. doi:10.3390/sports4020032
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.
University of Rochester Medical Center.BNP (blood).Harvard Medical School.BNP: an important new cardiac test. Harvard Health.Okamoto R, Ali Y, Hashizume R, Suzuki N, Ito M.BNP as a major player in the heart-kidney connection.Int J Mol Sci. 2019;20(14):3581.doi:10.3390/ijms20143581Heidenreich P, Bozkurt B, Aguilar D, et al.2022 AHA/ACC/HFSA guideline for the management of heart failure.J Am Coll Cardiol. 2022;79(17):e263–e421. doi:10.1016/j.jacc.2021.12.012National Institutes of Health MedlinePlus.Natriuretic peptide tests (BNP, NT-proBNP).Habel N, du Fay de Lavallaz J, Infeld M, et al.Lower heart rates and beta-blockers are associated with new-onset atrial fibrillation.Int J Cardiol Cardiovasc Risk Prev. 2023;17:200182. Published 2023 Feb 25. doi:10.1016/j.ijcrp.2023.200182Hamasaki H.The effects of exercise on natriuretic peptides in individuals without heart failure.Sports. 2016;4(2):32. doi:10.3390/sports4020032
University of Rochester Medical Center.BNP (blood).
Harvard Medical School.BNP: an important new cardiac test. Harvard Health.
Okamoto R, Ali Y, Hashizume R, Suzuki N, Ito M.BNP as a major player in the heart-kidney connection.Int J Mol Sci. 2019;20(14):3581.doi:10.3390/ijms20143581
Heidenreich P, Bozkurt B, Aguilar D, et al.2022 AHA/ACC/HFSA guideline for the management of heart failure.J Am Coll Cardiol. 2022;79(17):e263–e421. doi:10.1016/j.jacc.2021.12.012
National Institutes of Health MedlinePlus.Natriuretic peptide tests (BNP, NT-proBNP).
Habel N, du Fay de Lavallaz J, Infeld M, et al.Lower heart rates and beta-blockers are associated with new-onset atrial fibrillation.Int J Cardiol Cardiovasc Risk Prev. 2023;17:200182. Published 2023 Feb 25. doi:10.1016/j.ijcrp.2023.200182
Hamasaki H.The effects of exercise on natriuretic peptides in individuals without heart failure.Sports. 2016;4(2):32. doi:10.3390/sports4020032
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