ABSTRACT
Objective To observe the clinical significance and variation of plasma B-type brain natriuretic peptide (△BNP) levels before and after treadmill exercise test (TET) in women with coronary heart disease(CHD). Methods Sixty-one women with suspected coronary heart disease were selected (except for heart failure, blood BNP levels were normal). All patients underwent coronary angiography, were divided into two groups, 25 cases in normal group and 36 cases in coronary heart disease group. Plasma BNP levels were measured before and after the TET test, and data were compared between two groups after one week.Furthermore, the levels of△BNP before and after TET in patients with different degrees of coronary artery lesions were compared. The diagnostic value of the levels of△BNP in coronary heart disease was evaluated by the re-ceiver operating characteristic curve (ROC). Results The plasma BNP level was significantly increased after TET (44.20± 14.53) than that before the test (32.82±10.72) in coronary heart disease group (P<0.01). There were significant differences in levels of△BNP before and after TET in patients with different degrees of coronary lesions. The levels of△BNP were sig-nificantly higher in multi-vessel disease group than those of single and double lesion group (P<0.05). The level of△BNP was significantly higher in double lesion group than that of single lesion group (P < 0.05). When the level of △BNP=7.3 ng/L, the sensibility value and specificity value for the diagnosis of CHD was 82.4%and 81.5%. The area under curve (AUC) was 0.900, and 95%confidence interval was 0.796-0.962. Conclusion The detection of△BNP before and after TET has an important clinical significance in the diagnosis and evaluation of coronary heart disease in women patients.