Proenkephalin: a novel marker of renal dysfunction in heart failure
Contributor: Nicole Smith
Is the opioid system responsible for deteriorating renal function in heart failure?
In a large chronic HF study population, Emmens and colleagues demonstrated higher levels of the opioid surrogate proenkephalin (PENK) are associated with worse HF and deterioration of kidney function. Could PENK be the next renal biomarker in heart failure?
NT-proBNP is more predictive of unfavorable outcomes in HFpEF in the absence of AFib
Contributor: Martin Chacon
Does an increased NT-proBNP in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) and HFpEF correspond to a higher risk for worse outcomes? Kristensen et al suggest increased NTproBNP levels do not show the same correlation with poor outcomes in patients with AF compared with those without AF. NT-proBNP is increased in AF patients independently from heart failure, therefore, its capacity to predict cardiovascular death or hospitalizations in HFpEF may be diminished.