NPPB and heart failure: They also suggested that hyperuricemia may be a predictor of heart failure when it occurs due to increased xanthine oxidase activity and that therapies inhibiting xanthine oxidase activity in such congestive heart failure patients may be beneficial [25]. Another study found that treatment with the uricosuric agent benzbromarone in CHF patients had no effect on BNP levels or on left ventricular functional parameters.