A roundtable discussion was convened in December 2005 to discuss current and future applications of blood B-type natriuretic peptide testing in the diagnosis and treatment of cardiovascular disease. Dr. Peter McCullough, consulting cardiologist and Chief of the Division of Preventive Medicine at William Beaumont Hospital in Royal Oak, MI, chaired the discussion. Dr. Christian Mueller, consultant cardiologist and active researcher in the area of cardiac natriuretic peptides at the Department of Internal Medicine, University Hospital, Basel, Switzerland; and Dr. Clyde Yancy, Associate Dean for Medical Affairs at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX, participated in the discussion.