Association between N-terminal Pro-Brain Natriuretic Peptide and Acute Ischemic Stroke in Male Patients

Aims: Stroke is among the major cause of mortality and disability globally. Many types of research are ongoing in search of a reliable biomarker for acute ischemic stroke. This study was aimed to see the association of the serum N-terminal proBNP (pro-brain natriuretic peptide) or NT-proBNP with acute ischemic stroke.

Study Design: Case-control study.

Methodology: This case-control study was conducted from January 2023 to June 2023. A total of 30 acute ischemic stroke male patients were enrolled as cases with 30 healthy male controls. Serum NT-proBNP level was measured in all the participants. Clinical features including the National Institute of Health Stroke (NIHSS) scale score were recorded in cases.

Results: The mean ages of the cases and controls were 61 ± 9.22 and 62.40 ± 8.23 years respectively. Among the acute ischemic stroke patients, more than half of the patients (53%) had lacunar stroke. According to the NIHSS score, more than 90% of the patients had minor or moderate stroke (93.3%). The mean NT-proBNP of cases was significantly higher than the controls (266.99 ± 357.88 vs 46.32 ± 18.59) (P = .04). The mean logNT-proBNP level (1.96 ± 0.72) was also significantly higher among the cases than the controls (1.61 ± 0.22) (P = .04). We did not find any association of serum logNTpro-BNP with the duration of stroke (P = .40). There was also no statistically significant association between the NIHSS score and NT-proBNP or logNTpro-BNP levels (P = .36).

Conclusion: Serum NT-proBNP level was significantly higher in acute ischemic stroke patients. There was no association of NT-proBNP level with the stroke severity and duration.