Fluoxetine-pretreated infected mice exhibited reduced circulating levels of other markers of heart damage compared to vehicle-pretreated infected mice including creatine kinase (CK) (which is a marker of both cardiac and skeletal muscle damage) (Fig. 1F), as well as brain natriuretic peptide (BNP), which is released in response to ventricular wall stretch and is a biomarker for heart failure Fig. 1G) (26–29). This evidence concerns the gene NPPB and heart failure.