Prognostic value of cardiac biomarkers and National Early Warning Score 2 in acute dyspnoea

ObjectivePatients hospitalised with acute dyspnoea due to acute heart failure (AHF) have a grave prognosis, but the European Society of Cardiology guidelines recommend no system to risk stratify these patients. The prognostic value of combining National Early Warning Score (NEWS) 2 and established cardiac biomarkers is not known.MethodsWe measured high-sensitivity cardiac troponin T (hs-cTnT) and N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) and calculated NEWS2 in 314 patients with acute dyspnoea within 24 hours of hospitalisation. Their prognostic merits were assessed in the total cohort and for the subgroup with AHF separately.ResultsThe median age was 73 (quartile (Q) 1–3, 63–81) years, 48% were women and 143 patients (46%) were hospitalised with AHF. The 114 patients (36%) who died during follow-up (median 823 days, Q1–3, 471–998) had higher concentrations of hs-cTnT (62 vs 33 ng/L, p