Neurohormonal activation and the chronic Heart failure syndrome in adults with congenital Heart disease

Neurohormonal activation characterizes chronic heart failure, relates to outcome, and is a therapeutic target. It is not known whether a similar pattern of neurohormonal activation exists in adults with congenital heart disease and, if so, whether it relates to common measures of disease severity or whether cardiac anatomy is a better discriminant. Concentrations of atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP), brain natriuretic peptide (BNP), endothelin-1 (ET-1), renin, aldosterone, norepinephrine, and epinephrine were determined in 53 adults with congenital heart disease, comprising 4 distinct anatomic subgroups (29 female; 33.5+/-1.5 years of age; New York Heart Association class 2.0+/-0.1, mean+/-SEM) and 15 healthy control subjects (8 female; 32.3+/-1.3 years of age). Systemic ventricular function was graded by a blinded echocardiographer as normal or mildly, moderately, or severely impaired. Adults with congenital heart disease had elevated levels of ANP (56.6 versus 3.1 pmol/L), BNP (35.8 versus 5.7 pmol/L), ET-1 (2.5 versus 0.7 pmol/L, all P