Measurement of Natriuretic Peptides in Patients with Suspected Heart Failure to Prevent Overuse of Echocardiography - a Pilot Study.

Background: European Society of Cardiology (ESC) guidelines recommend measuring natriuretic peptides (BNP or NT-proBNP) in patients with suspected heart failure (HF) as a first-line tool. HF should be ruled-out if concen-trations of NT-proBNP are below 300 ng/L and 125 ng/L for acute HF and chronic HF, respectively.

Methods: Patients with suspected HF referred for transthoracic echocardiography (TTE) were enrolled; NT-pro-BNP concentrations were obtained from medical charts (measurement < 48 hours) or prospectively measured on the day of TTE.

Real-life contemporary vitamin K antagonist is still associated with very low time in therapeutic range despite strict international normalized ratio monitoring: Results of big data analysis.

What Is Known And Objective: This study aimed to determine the results of INR monitoring in patients on vitamin K antagonists (VKAs) and the time in therapeutic range (TTR) in 'real-world' settings.

Methods: Retrospective analysis of 836,857 INR measurements performed in adults from February 2010 to August 2015 in two districts in the French Brittany region.

Results: Of the 836,857 INR measurements, 94.

Routine use of natriuretic peptides: Lessons from a big data analysis.

Background: Natriuretic peptides have broad indications during heart failure and the detection of left ventricular dysfunction in high-risk patients. They can also be used for the diagnosis/management of other cardiac diseases. However, very little is known regarding their use in routine practice.