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Abstract
Aims. Galectin-3 is an emerging biomarker which has been studied in relatively small heart failure (HF) cohorts with predominantly systolic HF. We studied the prognostic value of base-line galectin-3 in a large HF cohort, with preserved and reduced left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF), and compared this to other biomarkers.
Methods. We studied 592 HF patients who had been hospitalized for HF and were followed for 18 months. The primary end-point was a composite of all-cause mortality and HF hospitalization.
Results. A doubling of galectin-3 levels was associated with a hazard ratio (HR) of 1.97 (1.62–2.42) for the primary outcome (P < 0.001). After correction for age, gender, BNP, eGFR, and diabetes the HR was 1.38 (1.07–1.78; P = 0.015). Galectin-3 levels were correlated with higher IL-6 and CRP levels (P < 0.002). Changes of galectin-3 levels after 6 months did not add prognostic information to the base-line value (n = 291); however, combining plasma galectin-3 and BNP levels increased prognostic value over either biomarker alone (ROC analysis, P < 0.05). The predictive value of galectin-3 was stronger in patients with preserved LVEF (n = 114) compared to patients with reduced LVEF (P < 0.001).
Conclusions. Galectin-3 is an independent marker for outcome in HF and appears to be particularly useful in HF patients with preserved LVEF.
Declaration of interest: This work was supported by the Netherlands Heart Foundation (grants 2007T046, 2000Z003, and 2006T037) and supported by BG Medicine (BG Medicine, Inc., Waltham, Massachusetts, USA).
BG Medicine, Inc., has certain rights related to galectin-3 and provided an unrestricted research grant to the Department of Cardiology of the University Medical Centre Groningen. Drs van Veldhuisen, Voors, and de Boer have received consulting and speaker's fees from BG Medicine, Inc.