HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS		QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:

This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in ISI Web of Science Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via ISI Web of Science (1) Google Scholar Articles by Lankeit, M. Articles by Lang, I. M. PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Lankeit, M. Articles by Lang, I. M.

Heart-type fatty acid-binding protein for risk assessment of chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension

¹ Dept of Cardiology and Pulmonology, University of Goettingen, Goettingen, ³ Dept of Medical Biometry and Statistics, University Hospital of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany, ² Dept of Internal Medicine II, Division of Cardiology, Medical University of Vienna, Austria, ⁴ Both authors contributed equally.

CORRESPONDENCE: S. Konstantinides, Dept of Cardiology and Pulmonology, University of Goettingen, D-37099 Goettingen, Germany. Fax: 49 5513914131. E-mail: skonstan{at}med.uni-goettingen.de

Keywords: Biomarkers, fatty acid-binding protein, prognosis, pulmonary hypertension

Received: August 3, 2007
Accepted January 15, 2008

Heart-type fatty acid-binding protein (H-FABP) is a reliable marker of myocardial injury and was recently identified as a predictor of outcome in acute pulmonary embolism. The aim of the present study was to investigate the prognostic value of H-FABP in chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension (CTEPH).

In total, 93 consecutive patients with CTEPH were studied. During long-term follow-up (median duration 1,260 days, interquartile range (IQR) 708–2,460 days), 46 (49%) patients had an adverse outcome, defined as CTEPH-related death, lung transplantation or persistent pulmonary hypertension after pulmonary endarterectomy (PEA).

Baseline H-FABP levels in plasma ranged from 0.69–24.3 ng·mL^–1 (median (IQR) 3.41 (2.28–4.86) ng·mL^–1). Cox regression analysis revealed a hazard ratio of 1.10 (95% confidence interval 1.04–1.18) for each increase of H-FABP by 1 ng·mL^–1, and continuous elevations of H-FABP emerged as an independent predictor of adverse outcome by multivariable analysis. PEA was performed in 52 patients and favourably affected the long-term outcome. Kaplan–Meier analysis revealed that patients with baseline H-FABP concentrations >2.7 ng·mL^–1, the median value of the biomarker in the surgically treated population, had a lower probability of event-free survival after PEA.

Heart-type fatty acid-binding protein is a promising novel biomarker for risk stratification of patients with chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension.