If your BNP levels are very high, it may have more to do with your kidneys than your heart. You may have kidney dysfunction or failure in addition to heart failure. If your BNP levels are extremely high and you aren’t sure what it means, talk to your doctor. If your BNP levels are lower than they should be, there may be different reasons. Sometimes, this can happen even if you have heart failure, especially if you are obese.
Related Health Topics
If high BNP or NT-proBNP levels are found, other tests will usually be done to confirm that heart failure is causing the symptoms. A BNP test or an NT-proBNP test is mainly used to help diagnose or rule out heart failure in a person who is having symptoms. Shortness of breath is the most common symptom of heart failure, but other conditions can cause the same type of breathing problems. Congestive heart failure is specifically when blood returning to the heart backs up and causes congestion in the body resulting in edema. The fluid can also back up into the lungs causing pulmonary edema.
- Testing BNP levels also is one of the best ways to show how well you’re doing on heart failure treatment.
- If your veins are hard to see, a tourniquet may be tied around your arm for a few seconds prior to and during the blood draw.
- This test is most often done in the emergency room or hospital.
- It is important to speak to your healthcare provider and insurance specialist regarding healthcare coverage.
- The chart below shows the normal range, as well as the cutoff levels for a heart failure diagnosis at different ages.
BNP Blood Test FAQs
If you cough a lot, often feel weak, have lost your appetite, and need to urinate a lot at night, you might have symptoms of heart failure. Heart failure is a long-term condition that usually comes on slowly. However, it can develop suddenly, for instance, after a heart attack.
Brain natriuretic peptide test
A level of 500 to 1,000 pg/mL is considered mildly high or elevated. When your BNP is 4,000 or higher, it means your levels are extremely high. One study found that there wasn’t a lot of difference between people with moderate or higher BNP levels.
Normal BNP range by age and sex
Other conditions can cause elevated BNP levels, including lung or kidney conditions and obesity. A high BNP level means you may have heart failure or that your heart failure is getting worse. It may also mean your heart failure treatment isn’t working well for you. Some other health conditions can cause BNP levels to go up, too. If you have high BNP and aren’t sure what it means for your health or how to try and lower it, ask your doctor. If your levels are in a normal range, it means you probably don’t have heart failure.
How can I lower my BNP levels?
BNP is one of several proteins that help regulate blood circulation throughout your body. Even though your heart makes this protein, providers sometimes call it “brain” natriuretic peptide because it was first discovered in brain tissue. The measurement of BNP helps to establish the diagnosis of heart failure (HF) or to determine if existing heart failure has worsened. When the needle is inserted to draw blood, you may feel a little pain.
In CHF, these natriuretic peptides are unable to function properly. This causes a rise in your BNP which is used as an indicator for new onset heart failure or worsening heart failure. Some providers may also obtain an atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP) level. ANP is a natriuretic peptide hormone, similar to BNP, but is secreted in a different area of the heart.
If you feel a bit dizzy or faint, you should sit for a few minutes and let it pass before you attempt to drive. Labs drawn while admitted as an inpatient require the patient to stay. You may feel a little stinging while the needle is inserted and while it’s being used to pull blood, but that’s normal. If your veins are hard to see, a tourniquet may be tied around your arm for a few seconds prior to and during the blood draw. This will allow your veins to become more prominent and easier to see. Some will also gently slap the vein in order for it to become more prominent.
If you have symptoms, you might require other tests to find out the underlying cause. Additionally, doctors may use the BNP test to assess how well a person’s heart failure treatments are working. Depending on the results of the BNP test, your provider may order follow-up tests, such as an electrocardiogram (EKG or ECG). This test monitors your heart rate through sensors attached to your skin. It can help your provider diagnose or evaluate heart failure and other heart problems. Heart failure medications, including beta blockers, ACE inhibitors and diuretics, can lower BNP or NT-proBNP levels in the blood.
NT-proBNP is slightly different than BNP but closely related. When your heart has to work harder, both BNP and NT-proBNP levels will go up. People should speak with a healthcare professional if they have questions or concerns about their BNP test results. The BNP test follows a standard blood test procedure, which a doctor, nurse, or phlebotomist performs.
CHF affects the body’s inability to function properly including the kidneys’ ability to dispose of sodium and water. When you have a heart attack, a protein called troponin is released into your blood. This protein is normally found in the heart muscle, so finding it in a lab result can help diagnose a heart attack. Your results will indicate if your BNP levels are high enough to suspect a diagnosis of heart failure.
Please discuss with your doctor any questions or concerns you may have. These symptoms are usually short-lived, if they develop at all. If you’re concerned about getting lightheaded, you may want to make sure someone drives you home afterward.
However, these symptoms can be caused by other things, and some people with heart failure can experience other symptoms, such as a cough, for example. The four signs of heart failure are unexplained breathlessness, fatigue, fainting, and swelling in the ankles or legs. When levels are above the normal range, doctors usually lower them with medication.
A machine then measures levels of BNP or another heart hormone, called N-terminal-pro BNP (NT-pro-BNP), in the blood sample. BNP and another heart-related hormone called an atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP) work together to keep your veins and arteries widened or dilated. This allows your blood to easily pass through and prevents clots from forming. BNP and ANP also help your kidneys more easily remove fluid and salt from your body. BNP can help diagnose heart conditions, including heart failure, with a high accuracy rate.