proBNP Blood test

[Catzzzmeow]

Wanted to share an update...we took Jouët for her 6 month heart scan last night. For newbies, she has a form of heart disease for 2+ years now...and they upped her meds last visit in hopes to slow the heartbeat a bit more making the heart work less hard. Great news...Upping her atenolol dosage has now caused her mitral valve to function normally. There is no more backwards flow of blood (regurgitation which is awesome.)The only change was a minuscule bit of thickening which cardiologist said is negligible. Normal is 1.78 for thickness hers is 1.8 which he said is nothing to worry about, but it is a change and they recognize that. Our vet said the cardiologist said we might consider putting her on a blood thinner lessening the chance of throwing a clot in the future. He said she has responded so well to meds it might be a good preventative step. I asked what would you do if she was his cat and he said he personally would do it because she responded so well to other meds. Side effects to look for upset tummy so plan in giving at dinner and bruising or bleeding if scratched especially if rough housing because she is a young cat. I don’t recall the last cut/scratch she ever had.
Maybe getting the kitten we are expecting will be another blessing and less hard playing for her. Just so happy.

Oh and cardiologist said no 6 month scan needed...recommended 12 months. No guarantees in life, but for now we are taking the good news. I can’t stress enough the importance of getting a heart scan at the 1 year mark and ask for your vet to do a BNP blood test during their yearly check ups. The rise in numbers of her BNP was how we caught the issue so early and started regular scans. I am so happy tonight. Preventative rather than reactive is best. Here’s my girlie.

 

[Bailey21]

So happy to hear the good news for Jouët! Thanks for the update (and background story as I'm still a newbie). Sending love and hugs your way, keep up the good health miss Jouët! :shame:

 

[NinaGato]

Glad to hear the meds are working so well for her. Many hugs!

 

[Yoda mom]

Sooo soo happy for the great news! Head smooches sent !
Happy dance all round!

Do you have any info to share on BNP test ?

 

[kauna]

many hugs to you and Jouët! I have never heard of a BNP test. Can you give more information on it please?

 

[Toa and Ross]

Yay for your quirky girl. Soooooo very happy for you and the family!

 

[Catzzzmeow]

Sooo soo happy for the great news! Head smooches sent !
Happy dance all round!

Do you have any info kiosk to share on BNP test ?

We scanned all of ours at the 1 year mark for a base. We then do regular yearly wellness checks and at that time we ask for blood-work and to include the BNP test...which actually at our vet is the same price as blood work when included with a overall yearly checkup which I always found odd. The numbers in the BNP test jumped a bit which can be a sign of heart disease, so we then scanned her again and caught it so early which is key. I will always ask for a BNP test anytime we do bloodwork. Only a true heart scan can detect what form of heart disease, but a BNP test can be a good pre-cursor if you are already doing blood-work. We do yearly scans, but for those who might not be able to do yearly scans, it is an affordable way to hope to get a read, but again, nothing replaces the accuracy of a heart scan.

 

[Annejo12]

So happy to hear! My Raphael will be 1 this month and my vet is going to do some base testing as well. So where do they draw blood from? Just curious.

 

[Catzzzmeow]

@Annejo12 usually vets draw blood from a vein from the inside of a rear leg.

 

[Yoda mom]

@Catzzzmeow ,
some members want to know what "BNP " stands for and what is BNP test ?
Do we have a sticky on it ?

I have seen it mentioned as a ProBNP

@kauna , I was reading up on the BNP test and read this:

""How can the proBNP test help?

This new exciting blood test called a proBNP test may be lifesaving! The proBNP test has been used in humans for years, and we also can use it for dogs. However, cats especially benefit from this great, inexpensive screening test.

The proBNP test measures stretching of the heart due to disease on a microcellular level. It is a simple blood test that most veterinarians can now perform. With it we can establish a baseline of the condition of the cat’s heart without the added expense of performing an echocardiogram (cardiac ultrasound).

The test is also useful if we have a young cat whose brother, sister or mother had heart disease, because we can test for a genetic predisposition inexpensively."""

I will definitely check with my vet if they offer the BNP test and how much it is

 

[Catzzzmeow]

Here is some info I googled to share about it. There’s lots of info out there on it @Yoda mom. I just figure if I am doing blood work I might as well include it.


BNP is the acronym for “brain natriuretic peptide,” a protein originally isolated from the brains of pigs, designed to tell the body to excrete sodium when it is present in excess. We now understand the primary source of BNP is not the brain, but rather the ventricles of the heart, and the main signal for the release of the peptide is excessive stretching of the heart muscle.

One such signal for stretch is the overload that occurs with increased blood volume secondary to increased salt intake. BNP promotes sodium excretion through the urine, and subsequently fluid will flow along with the salt. This helps reduce the body’s blood volume, reducing the stretch on the heart, and the BNP signal is turned off.

BNP levels will be inappropriately elevated in cats with heart disease due to pathological stretch of the heart muscle. The Cariopet feline pro-BNP assay can measure the level of BNP in the bloodstream and serve as an assay for disease.

 

[Sheldon13]

@Catzzzmeow

Excellent summary. (I’m a nurse)


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[Yoda mom]

@admin, is it possible to make a sticky for the BNP test (ProBNP) explanation ?

Perhaps BNP test information as part of the HCM sticky?

I personally had no idea about the BNP test and my vet has never mentioned it when doing regular blood work on my sphynx with HCM or heart murmurs .


I believe the BNP test information may be a valuable tool for members and sphynx heart health .

It is an inexpensive test option to discuss with their vet when establishing a baseline for the condition of a cat's heart and it does not take the place of of the more expensive echocardiogram (cardiac ultrasound).


@Catzzzmeow , thank you for the BNP information.
I had no idea that a BNP test existed or was an option

I found this chart

 

[admin]

@admin, is it possible to make a sticky for the BNP test (ProBNP) explanation ?

Perhaps BNP test information as part of the HCM sticky?

I personally had no idea about the BNP test and my vet has never mentioned it when doing regular blood work on my sphynx with HCM or heart murmurs .


I believe the BNP test information may be a valuable tool for members and sphynx heart health .

It is an inexpensive test option to discuss with their vet when establishing a baseline for the condition of a cat's heart and it does not take the place of of the more expensive echocardiogram (cardiac ultrasound).


@Catzzzmeow , thank you for the BNP information.
I had no idea that a BNP test existed or was an option

I found this chart

Done.

 

[Condo commando]

Great news - way to go Jouet!

@Catzzzmeow thanks for bringing this to the forum. I ask the vet to draw blood every couple of years but I never heard of this BNP test before and needless to say the vet didn't mention it. If it's possible for you to post a pic of the BNP report I'd sure be interested in seeing what it shows. It sounds like a no brainer.

 

[Catzzzmeow]

@Condo commando sorry, but I did not ask for the reports. Our vet called us with the numbers. I do want to stress this test is not a replacement for a heart scan. A echocardiogram is the most definitive way to diagnose heart disease. I just know that the price of scans can be daunting and many do not scan yearly, but do have blood work done, so you might as well get this done and if the numbers changed or are high it will reaffirm time for scanning.

 

[Condo commando]

@Condo commando sorry, but I did not ask for the reports. Our vet called us with the numbers. I do want to stress this test is not a replace,ent for a heart scan. A echocardiogram is the most definitive way to diagnose heart disease. I just know that the price of scans can be daunting and many do not scan yearly, but do have blood work done, so you might as well get this done and if the numbers changed or are high it will reaffirm time for scanning.

Exactly right so I'm going to start asking for this. Thanks for the tip.

 

[MyJezebel]

That's such awesome news! So very happy to hear the increased dose did the trick. Also sounds like you have a solid plan going forward to prevent further progression. Definitely cause for celebration. Yay


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