To investigate the clinical value of plasma N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) and heart rate variability in disease severity and prognosis assessment in patients with chronic heart failure.

A total of 177 hospitalized patients with chronic heart failure treated at the Lu′an Second People′s Hospital from September 2016 to December 2017 were included. According to cardiac function classification, the patients were divided into a levelⅡ-Ⅲ cardiac function group (n=91) or a levelⅣ group (n=86). The distribution of gender and concomitant diseases were compared by chi-square test between the two groups. Age, NT-proBNP, and heart rate variability (HRV) measures SDNN, RMSSD, PNN50, and HRV triangle index were compared by the independent samples t-test between the two groups.

The level of plasma NT-proBNP in the levelⅡ-Ⅲ group was significantly lower than that of the levelⅣ group [(1545.2±147.5) ng/L vs (4012.6±983.2) ng/L, t=49.510, P<0.001]. The HRV measures SDNN, RMSSD, PNN50, and HRV triangle index in the level Ⅱ-Ⅲ group were significantly higher than those of the level Ⅳ group [(95.56±15.16) ms vs (68.74±12.58) ms, t=15.294, P<0.001; (19.04±7.62) ms vs (15.23±5.29) ms, t=9.275, P=0.001; (5.59±2.23)% vs (4.48±2.65)%, t=5.601, P=0.002; (13.22±6.82) vs (10.69±4.53), t=2.748, P=0.011]. The rates of sinus arrhythmia, cardiovascular events, and sinus arrhythmia with cardiovascular events were significantly lower in the level Ⅱ-Ⅲ group than that of the level Ⅳ group [27 cases (29.7%) vs 40 cases (46.5%), χ²=15.130, P<0.001; 9 cases (9.9%) vs 14 cases (16.3%), χ²=11.577, P<0.001; 4 cases (4.4%) vs 8 cases (9.3%), χ²=10.836, P=0.001].

Plasma NT-proBNP level and HRV indexes are of great significance in the diagnosis, treatment, and prognosis assessment in patients with chronic heart failure.