heart failure: check BNP measurements regularly
A recent study found that repeatedly tracking NT-proBNP levels in patients with heart failure with reduced ejection fraction was a much stronger predictor of developing subsequent clinical heart failure than using just a baseline value (see heart failure repeated BNP predicts HF exacerb JACC-HF2023 in dropbox or doi.org/10.1016/j.jchf.2023.11.007) Details: -- 894 study participants who had chronic heart failure (HF) with reduced ejection fraction were included from 45 outpatient sites in the US and Canada, in the GUIDE-IT trial. The current study is a secondary analysis of this trial -- the GUIDE-IT trial tested the impact of titrating guideline-directed medical therapy (GDMT) using a target NT-proBNP<1000 pg/mL for those with a baseline NT-proBNP >2000 pg/mL, versus usual care – this GUIDE-IT trial was stopped early because of futility/no difference between the guided therapy vs placebo, with each having 37% of patients with a composite of HF or cardio...