B-type natriuretic peptide as a marker of asymptomatic re-stenosis after coronary implantation of a paclitaxel-eluting stent.

Background: The aim of the present study was the detection of asymptomatic coronary re-stenosis after percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI).

Methods: We studied 26 subjects who had been recently implanted with a paclitaxel-eluting coronary stent by both a conventional exercise test and the determination of plasma B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP) levels.

Results: At control coronary angiography, nine months after initial PCI, six patients had re-stenosis and 20 were re-stenosis free. We found that re-stenosis was best predicted by the combination of a basal plasma BNP level > or = 50 pg/ml and a positive or uncertain conventional exercise test (positive likelihood ratio of the combination = 10). The best predictor of absence of re-stenosis was a low (< 50 pg/ml) plasma BNP level (negative likelihood ratio = 0.26).

Conclusions: Accordingly, basal BNP level testing can be recommended in the follow-up evaluation of coronary patients after PCI, to improve both the detection and the exclusion of asymptomatic re-stenosis.