Table 2.
Patient characteristics according to plasma BNP quartile.
| Variable | Quartiles of plasma BNP level (pg/mL) | p value | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ≤23.0 | 23.0-52.5 | 52.5-140.6 | >140.6 | ||
| Age, years | 63.0 ± 10.6 | 68.8 ± 8.9 | 68.1 ± 13.8 | 70.3 ± 11.7 | 0.048 |
| Gender, male:female | 25:10 | 26:10 | 14:21 | 14:21 | 0.001 |
| Current smoker | 13 (37) | 10 (28) | 8 (23) | 5 (14) | 0.026 |
| Hypertension | 19 (54) | 20 (56) | 24 (69) | 14 (40) | 0.429 |
| Diabetes mellitus | 6 (17) | 10 (28) | 7 (20) | 10 (29) | 0.412 |
| Atrial fibrillation | 1 (3) | 3 (8) | 13 (37) | 24 (69) | 0.000 |
| Heart failure | 0 (0) | 1 (3) | 3 (9) | 5 (14) | 0.009 |
| Hyperlipidemia | 4 (11) | 5 (14) | 3 (9) | 3 (9) | 0.550 |
| Serum WBC count, /mm3 | 7901.6 ± 2666.7 | 9544.2 ± 3413.9 | 7994.6 ± 2354.3 | 10237.5 ± 4569.4 | 0.010 |
| Serum creatinine, mg/dL | 0.8 ± 0.2 | 1.0 ± 0.3 | 0.8 ± 0.2 | 0.9 ± 0.3 | 0.070 |
| Plasma hs-CRP level, mg/L | 0.8 ± 2.7 | 1.6 ± 5.3 | 1.0 ± 2.1 | 5.9 ± 11.0 | 0.003 |
| Initial NIHSS | 5.3 ± 5.3 | 5.1 ± 5.8 | 6.4 ± 5.1 | 9.0 ± 7.7 | 0.031 |
| Infarction volume, cm3 | 5.8 ± 10.4 | 11.8 ± 32.3 | 26.0 ± 38.5 | 47.0 ± 69.6 | 0.006 |
Values are n (%) or mean ± SD. BNP, B-type natriuretic peptide; WBC, white blood cells; hs-CRP, high sensitivity C-reactive protein; NIHSS, National Institute of Health Stroke Scale.