Cardiopet proBNP
IDEXX Reference Laboratories Launches Cardiopet™ proBNP Test. A first-line, quantitative test for early evaluation of heart health in dogs and cats.
Cardiopet™ proBNP test, a minimally invasive blood test that accurately evaluates the cardiovascular status of canine and feline patients during the preliminary workup.
Cardiopet proBNP is a first-line test that provides easy-to-understand quantitative results with interpretive criteria. This vital information helps veterinarians make timely and effective decisions. Incorporating Cardiopet proBNP into the preliminary workup provides a more comprehensive diagnostic picture, leads to earlier detection of heart disease or heart failure, and facilitates prompt and appropriate treatment decisions.
The dramatic growth in pet heart disease over the past few decades, especially with dogs and cats living up to four times longer, highlights the need for this early diagnostic test. Up to 15% of younger dogs have heart disease, but that rate increases to above 60% as dogs age. Heart disease is surprisingly prevalent in both dogs and cats.
What’s more disturbing is that a diagnosis of heart disease is often missed in asymptomatic feline patients, thereby artificially lowering the prevalence rates. In fact, studies have shown that prevalence of subclinical cardiomyopathy in cats may be up to 16%.
The Cardiopet proBNP test measures NTproBNP, a peptide that is stored as a “prohormone” and is released as the chambers of the heart are stretched. This stretching of the chambers is a result of heart disease, most commonly mitral valve disease or dilated cardiomyopathy in dogs and hypertropic cardiomyopathy in cats. As brain natriuretic peptide (BNP) releases, it is cleaved into “C” and “N” terminal portions. Cardiopet proBNP measures the more stable “N” portion (NTproBNP). As heart disease progresses, the chambers become more stretched, and BNP is released in greater quantities.
The Cardiopet proBNP test enables veterinarians to quantitatively track disease progression and make judgments about the condition of the heart in order to determine the appropriate course of action. For example, a measurement of 1,100-1,725 in canines, or 100-270 in felines, indicates that the NTproBNP concentration is elevated and consistent with heart disease and/or congestive heart failure. Results such as these would indicate the need for a complete cardiac workup.
IDEXX suggests that veterinarians include Cardiopet proBNP with their initial workup when any of the following clinical signs are present:
- An audible murmur
- Arrhythmia
- Exercise intolerance
- Lethargy
- Breathlessness
- Dyspnea
- Coughing
- Pale mucous membranes
- Visible signs of poor perfusion
Certain other situations may also indicate a need for the test. These include
- All cases of suspect congestive heart failure
- To differentiate respiratory disease from heart disease
- All patients with murmurs and arrhythmia
- All cats over the age of four
- All cats with a gallop rhythm
- All breeds predisposed to heart disease and showing clinical signs
