NPPB and Hypertension: BNP levels are also elevated in patients with hypertension, and an increased blood pressure stimulates BNP secretion (Jakubik et al., 2006, Dohi, 2022 Jul), suggesting that an increased BNP level may have partially occurred following a mild blood pressure elevation, although the adjustment for blood pressure in the Cox regression analysis did not eliminate the significant correlation between BNP and MACE.