Abstract:Objective To determine the plasma level of N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide(NT-proBNP) between patients with systolic or diastolic heart failure (HF) and the relationship with age. Methods A total of 202 patients diagnosed with HF (104 cases with systolic HF, and 98 cases with diastolic HF) admitted in our department from January 2010 to October 2011 were enrolled in this study. They all presented the signs and symptoms of HF, and identified with echocardiography. These patients were divided into Ⅱ to Ⅳ class according to New York Heart Association Functional Classification (NYHA), plasma level of NT-proBNP was measured in the systolic and diastolic HF groups on admission, and the results were compared among different HF groups and age groups. Twenty sex- and age-matched healthy individuals served as normal control. Results The median NT-proBNP level was significantly higher in systolic HF and diastolic HF group than in healthy control (P<0.01), and that of systolic HF group was significantly higher than that of diastolic HF group (P<0.05). The level was increased with the increase of NYHA class, that is, significantly higher in NYHA class Ⅳ than in NYHA class Ⅲ and in NYHA class Ⅱ (P<0.05) in every age group. The level was also in a trend of elevation along with aging, though without statistical significance (P>0.05). Conclusion The median plasma NT-proBNP level is significantly higher in systolic HF than in diastolic HF, and it has a close relationship with NYHA class. NT-proBNP level is not significantly correlated with age.