Assessment of Natriuretic Peptides: The Heart Should Be Evaluated as a Whole

Dear Editor,

We read with great interest the article by Rodrigues et al entitled “Right Ventricular Assessment by Tissue-Doppler Echocardiography in Acute Pulmonary Embolism”, which was published of the Arquivos Brasileiros de Cardiologia. The authors aimed to evaluate the right ventricular (RV) systolic function using two-dimensional tissue Doppler echocardiography in patients with acute pulmonary embolism (PE) and to analyze its correlation with atrial natriuretic peptide (BNP) levels. The authors concluded that increased BNP levels (≥ 50 pg/mL) were associated with a higher prevalence of RV systolic dysfunction in patients with PE. Although the current article is well-managed, and we commend the authors for the detailed and valuable information that they have provided, some comments may be beneficial.

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