NPPB and atherosclerosis: Thus, we selected a panel of biomarkers associated with higher risk of cardiovascular (CV) events [11], including monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1) and galectin-3, both involved in inflammation and atherosclerosis [12,13]; N-terminal fragment of brain natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP), which is related with heart failure (HF); and Troponin I, a marker of myocardial injury.