Abstract 12455: Evaluation of N-Terminal Pro-B-type Natriuretic Peptide as a Therapeutic Response Biomarker in Group I Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension

Purpose: Goal directed management of left heart failure with an NT-proBNP target-based approach has some evidence of providing a survival benefit. To evaluate the potential utility of serial NT-proBNP measurements for goal-directed therapy in right heart failure we retrospectively assessed NT-proBNP as a predictor for survival in Group I pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) patients. Methods: We identified 103 Group I PAH patients from a pulmonary hypertension registry who had baseline elevated NT-proBNP prior to either the initiation or escalation of therapy and at least two serial NT-proBNP measurements. In a two-step process, we (1) estimated baseline NT-proBNP and slope (rate of change of NT-proBNP) with a linear mixed-effects model using all patient data and then (2) compared the power of serial versus single measurements in predicting survival with measured and model-derived values of baseline NT-proBNP with a Receiver Operative Characteristic (ROC) curve analysis . Survival was determined using th...