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BNP (brain natriuretic peptide or B-type natriuretic peptide) is a substance produced in the heart ventricles when there is excessive strain to the heart muscles. A blood test for this can be used as an effective parameter for detecting an acute event of congestive heart failure, where the heart is unable to pump sufficient amount of blood required by the body's needs. When a person has a heart failure (such as MI), BNP is secreted so immensely that it sits well above the measurable range. Values above 100 signal a problematic situation and those above 500 a highly demanding state. Note that a person with a remote history of heart problems may not have BNP levels elevated, but it is used as a measure of acute events.

On the other hand, BMP or basic metabolic panel is not a single test but a group of 8 tests (glucose, calcium, sodium, potassium, bicarbonate, chloride, BUN, creatinine). Any test that has the word panel in it is not a single test, so cannot have a single value.

With this logic in mind, if a doctor uses phrases like "BNP/BMP is elevated/negative/positive/is greater than/less than etc." and then a single value, it may not be BMP. You can also take the hint from the file whether the patient presented to the hospital with an acute coronary event. Likewise, if he says multiple values for this test, this must be BMP.

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