NPPB and ischemia: Taking into account methodological aspects, we compared NT-proBNP using absolute values and NT-proBNP/ULN values that were standardized by age and gender between three subgroups: those without ischemia (negative hs-troponin I/no anginal pain (hsTnI-/AP-)), those with painless ischemia (hsTnI+/AP-), and those with painful ischemia (hsTnI+/AP+).