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Heart disease is the leading cause of death in the United States, claiming a life nearly every 34 seconds. A major driver of these fatalities is heart failure, a progressive condition where the heart struggles to pump enough blood throughout the body.

To identify heart failure, doctors regularly test for a specific hormone in the blood called B-type natriuretic peptide, or BNP. Elevated levels of BNP and its related protein fragments have served as a biological "check engine light"—a warning sign, or biomarker, indicating the heart muscle is under stress from heart failure or another cardiovascular disease.

Researchers with the Texas A&M University Irma Lerma Rangel College of Pharmacy at Texas A&M Health have discovered that BNP could be doing far more than signaling distress. Led by Zhenyu Li, Ph.D., a professor of pharmaceutical sciences, the research team discovered that high levels of BNP actively drive blood platelets to clump together, directly accelerating the formation of blood clots and blockages.

Medical professionals have generally viewed BNP as a messenger of cardiac stress, helping them diagnose cardiovascular disease, according to Harvard Health. However, Li's lab suspected there was more to the story.

"We thought that BNP might not only act as a passive marker but actively contribute to the pathogenesis and progression of cardiovascular disease," Li said.

The recently published study demonstrates that BNP promotes platelet activation and thrombus formation, which can lead to serious health issues such as heart attacks.

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