Methods: Authors performed ROC analysis in a group of 157 patients with measured brain natriuretic peptide (1–32) plasma concentrations (BNP), estimated left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) and clinical data (survival rate, clinical signs of heart failure and NYHA classification). Results: The area under the ROC curve (AUC) was significantly different between BNP and LVEF when classification of patients was based on survival interval (cut-off 1000 days, 0.810 vs. 0.710, P < 0.05) or survival rate (P between 0.028 and 0.089 for different analysis settings).On the contrary, no differences were found in AUC for BNP and LVEF when classification was based on clinical assessment of heart failure (AUC 0.819 vs. 0.802, N. S.) or NYHA classification (AUC 0.730 vs. 0.717, N. S.). Conclusion:We conclude that BNP is more related to overall mortality and prognosis than LVEF.No differences were found in diagnostic effectivity of BNP and LVEF with respect to clinical assessment of heart failure and NYHA classification.

        Key words: B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP), left ventricular ejection fraction, heart failure, NYHA classification.