BNP Results

The doctor emailed late last week with results from Connie's lab work. His pro-BNP, the test which measures heart failure, was elevated.  Normal is below 124 and Connie's was 180.  Last summer his BNP was 18.6, so on the surface this looks like a concerning development.  However, given the exam and echo results the doctor is not worried.  He also discovered that these two labs were slight variations, so the numbers aren't comparable, unfortunately.  There are three forms of BNP tests and different laboratories draw different tests by default apparently.  The more reliable test in the field today is the pro-BNP, which is what he had drawn last week.  Bottom line is we will check this level again in three months and if it continues to rise above 180, we will likely make changes (go back on meds or something), but at least we will be able to compare apples to apples.