Patent ID: 7741068

Claim:
A method for differentiating cause in a subject suffering from chronic shortness of breath (dyspnea) between (i) a pulmonary disease, (ii) a cardiovascular complication, (iii) a cardiovascular complication accompanied by a pulmonary disease, and (iv) dyspnea without cardiovascular or pulmonary causes, the method comprising the steps of: determining an amount of a pulmonary surfactant protein B (SP-B) in a sample from a subject; determining an amount of N-terminal pro brain natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) in a sample from said subject; and differentiating between (i) a pulmonary disease, (ii) a cardiovascular complication, (iii) a cardiovascular complication accompanied by a pulmonary disease and (iv) chronic dyspnea without cardiovascular or pulmonary causes by comparing the amount of SP-B determined to a reference amount of SP-B and the amount of NT-proBNP determined to a reference amount of NT-proBNP.