TY - JOUR T1 - Natriuretic peptides in the diagnosis and management of heart failure JF - Canadian Medical Association Journal JO - CMAJ SP - 611 LP - 617 DO - 10.1503/cmaj.060236 VL - 175 IS - 6 AU - G. Michael Felker AU - John W. Petersen AU - Daniel B. Mark Y1 - 2006/09/12 UR - http://www.cmaj.ca/content/175/6/611.abstract N2 - The natriuretic peptides are a family of related hormones that play a crucial role in cardiovascular homeostasis. They have recently emerged as potentially important clinical markers in heart failure. Recent data have suggested an important role for these markers in establishing the diagnosis of heart failure in patients with unexplained dyspnea in both acute care and ambulatory settings. Other clinical uses of the natriuretic peptides, such as screening for asymptomatic ventricular dysfunction, establishing prognosis or guiding titration of drug therapy, are under investigation but have not yet sufficiently been validated for widespread clinical use. ER -