Telomeres are the protective caps on the ends of chromosomes that affect how quickly cells age. They are combinations of DNA and protein that protect the ends of chromosomes and help them remain stable. As they become shorter, and as their structural integrity weakens, the cells age and die quicker.
See p 2392. B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP) is a neurohormone secreted mainly in the cardiac ventricles in response to volume expansion and pressure overload.1,2 Activation of BNP in patients with left ventricular (LV) dysfunction has generated considerable interest in both its diagnostic and prognostic properties.
BNP is a heart hormone (peptide) produced by the heart's pumping chambers when the heart can't supply the body with enough blood. BNP levels are high in patients with systolic dysfunction, and the worse the heart class, the higher the BNP level.t measures levels of BNP or B-type natriuretic peptide. Levels of this hormone are very high in people with acute heart failure. Doctors have often been wrong when faced with a person having CHF, calling it asthma, respiratory infection, pneumonia, or gallstones.