NPPB and heart failure: N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide (NT-pro-BNP), a biologically inertbyproduct of pro-B-type natriuretic peptide (pro-BNP) cleavage at its N-terminalend, exhibits a longer degradation time than B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP).Apart from its established roles in diagnosing, risk-stratifying, andprognosticating acute or chronic heart failure [11, 12], plasma BNP andNT-pro-BNP levels also predict the risk of mortality and cardiovascular events inasymptomatic populations without heart failure [13, 14, 15].