Elevated NT-proBNP is a biomarker of cardiac dysfunction related to several pathological processes in the cardiovascular system: heart failure,25 atrial fibrillation26 and stroke.12 We suggest that elevated NT-proBNP in KYH compared with Tromsø 7 may be explained by higher heart damage due to non-ischaemic pathways to heart disease. Here, NPPB is linked to Stroke.