Atrial natriuretic peptide: pathophysiological considerations.

Atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP) is a cardiac hormone with potent diuretic and natriuretic properties. This hormone mediates a finely tuned control mechanism for the maintenance of blood pressure and volume. The altered pressure and volume in many important cardiovascular diseases suggest that understanding the functional role of ANP is integral to these conditions. ANP levels are increased in a wide variety of cardiac disorders such as hypertension, diabetes, congestive heart failure, myocardial infarction and valvular heart diseases. Several studies have indicated a positive correlation between the severity of cardiac disorders and plasma ANP levels highlighting its importance as a prognostic factor in cardiovascular diseases. Furthermore, its compensatory role in these situations has prompted a world-wide investigation on the use of ANP as a drug in cardiac diseases and it is not surprising that there has been a wealth of scientific papers on this subject. This review attempts to summarize the present knowledge concerning the physiology of ANP and evaluates some of the latest experimental findings and opinions on the involvement of ANP in cardiovascular diseases.