Exogenous administration of atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP) results in natriuresis (Epstein et al., 1998; Gunning et al., 1992), vasodilation (Fujita et al., 1987; Edwards et al., 1988) and reduced plasma concentrations of renin and aldosterone (Steele et al., 1997), thereby alleviating symptoms of heart failure. Here, NPPA is linked to heart failure.