[The utility of assaying the N-terminal of brain natriuretic peptide precursor (NT pro-BNP) to predict the clinical outcome in patients with supraventricular tachyarrhythmias observed and treated in the emergency room].

Many patients arrive at the emergency room (ER) with recent-onset atrial fibrillation or other forms of supraventricular tachyarrhythmia (SV Ta) or tachycardia. The restoration of sinus rhythm (SR) is always desirable and, in addition, can enable many hospitalisations to be avoided, thereby achieving considerable savings in financial and healthcare resources. Even in haemodynamically stable cases, it is clearly useful to be able to evaluate which subjects will benefit most from attempts to restore SR, even when few truly diagnostic means are on hand (such as echocardiography, which is not always promptly available in the ER setting).