NPPB and anemia (phenotype): Serial measurements of proBNP levels were available in 44% of our patients (data not shown), but the presence of pre-treatment proBNP levels above the age-adjusted cut-off values, and their variations due to cardiological therapy, anaemia, infections and renal disease, affected the specificity and predictive value of this biomarker, as previously reported (Dodos et al, 2008).