Natriuretic peptides and placental-growth factor/soluble VEGF-receptor discriminate cardiac dysfunction related to heart disease from a placenta-associated cardiac dysfunction in pregnant woman

Abstract

The present invention relates to a method for diagnosing if a pregnant woman suffers from a cardiac dysfunction, comprising the steps of a) measuring the level of a Natriuretic peptide in a sample b) measuring the level of Placental-growth Factor and / or sFlt-1 or a variant thereof in a sample wherein an increased level of a Natriuretic peptide and a decreased level of Placental-growth Factor and / or an increased level of sFlt-1 or a variant thereof indicates the presence of a placenta-associated cardiac dysfunction, or wherein an increased level of a Natriuretic peptide and a not decreased level of Placental-growth Factor and / or a not increased level of sFlt-1 or a variant thereof indicates the presence of a cardiac dysfunction related to heart disease. The present invention also relates to an array, to an immunological rapid test, to the use of corresponding kits and to methods of for a decision support for the possible treatment of a pregnant woman suffering from a cardiac dysfunction.

Description

field of invention [0001] The present invention relates to the use of biomarkers in the diagnosis of cardiac dysfunction in pregnant women and, in particular, to distinguish placenta-associated cardiac dysfunction from cardiac dysfunction associated with heart disease. Background of the invention [0002] Preeclampsia is one of the most common pregnancy conditions, affecting about 5% of pregnancies. It is a major cause of maternal mortality and morbidity, perinatal death, preterm birth and intrauterine growth restriction. Preeclampsia is a syndrome of hypertension, edema, and proteinuria. Symptoms appear after the 20th week of pregnancy and can generally be detected by routine monitoring of a woman's blood pressure and urine. When a pregnant woman develops hypertension (two independent readings of 140 / 90 or higher measured at least 6 hours apart) and presents 300 mg of protein in a 24-hour urine sample ( proteinuria ) was diagnosed as preeclampsia. Preeclampsia is also mo...

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Problems solved by technology

However, Resnik did not describe whether the cardiac dysfunction in pregnant women was caused by preeclampsia, or whether the symptoms were attributable to other pre-existing cardiac events

[0012] However, determination of natriuretic peptide alone cannot prove a cause of maternal cardiac dysfunction since no other etiology, such as placental insufficiency, was detected

Therefore, as far as the current state of the art is concerned, there is no diagnostic method that can be used to distinguish maternal cardiac dysfunction from placenta-associated cardiac dysfunction from primary heart disease

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