NPPB and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: CRP plays an important role in diagnosing breathlessness caused by an underlying bacterial pneumonia,5 as well as predicting mortality in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).6 BNP is routinely used in acute settings to support the diagnosis of acute heart failure.7The European Society of Cardiology recommends BNP threshold values of <100 pg/mL to rule out acute congestive cardiac failure and values >500 pg/mL as diagnostic of acute exacerbations of heart failure.8