Effect of sacubitril/valsartan on brain natriuretic peptide level and prognosis of acute cerebral infarction: protocol for a randomized controlled trial

Previous studies demonstrated that elevated brain natriuretic peptide (BNP) level is associated with adverse clinical outcomes of acute cerebral infarction (ACI). Researchers hypothesized that BNP might be a potential neuroprotective factor against cerebral ischemia because of the antagonistic effect of the natriuretic peptide system on the renin-angiotensin system and regulation of cardiovascular homeostasis. However, whether decreasing the BNP level can improve the prognosis of ACI has not been studied yet. The main effect of sacubitril/valsartan is to enhance the natriuretic peptide system. We investigated whether the intervention of plasma BNP levels with sacubitril/valsartan could improve the prognosis of patients with ACI.