N-terminal prohormone B-type natriuretic peptide and cardiovascular risk in stable coronary artery disease: a meta-analysis of nine prospective studies.

To evaluate the prognostic value of N-terminal prohormone B-type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) for patients with stable coronary artery disease, we searched for all published English-language articles indexed in MEDLINE and PubMed through July 2011. Nine independent, prospective, cohort studies that assessed the association between NT-proBNP value and long-term prognosis were identified. The interested endpoints of this meta-analysis were all-cause mortality and cardiovascular mortality and cardiovascular events. A general variance-based method was used to pool the hazard ratio (HR). In a comparison of individuals in the top quartile with those in the bottom quartile of baseline values of NT-proBNP, the combined adjusted HR was 2.74 (95% confidence interval [CI], 1.85-3.62). The combined HRs for the second and third quartiles compared with the first quartile were 1.33 (95% CI, 0.83-1.82) and 1.85 (95% CI, 1.23-2.48), respectively. In a subanalysis grouped by the median value, per 1 standard deviation increase or per 1000 pg/mL increase of NT-proBNP, the overall effect also showed that poor prognosis was significantly increased with the elevation of NT-proBNP (HR, 1.58; 95% CI, 1.16-2.01). Available prospective studies indicated strong associations between the circulating concentration of NT-proBNP and long-term prognosis in patients with stable coronary artery disease.