NPPB and Hypertension: Therefore, echocardiography has become the routine gold-standard test to detect LVH.10,11 There is increasing interest in the potential use of measuring the blood level of brain natriuretic peptide (BNP) for clinical stratification of cardiovascular risk in patients with hypertension.12 Primary care physicians play a critical role in the detection, risk stratification, and treatment of patients with hypertension.