NPPB and hydrops fetalis: While some studies have looked at the association between EDS and metabolic risk markers,11 12 few have examined mechanisms by which EDS may influence CVD and in particular incident HF.6 In particular, the association between EDS and markers of arterial disease and surrogate markers of cardiac function, including N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide (NT-pro-BNP), a marker of ventricular stress, and cardiac troponin T (cTnT), a marker of myocardial injury, have been less studied.