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Galectin-3 in ambulatory patients with heart failure: results from the HF-ACTION study

G Michael Felker1, Mona Fiuzat, Linda K Shaw

  • 1Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC 27710, USA. michael.felker@duke.edu

Circulation. Heart Failure
|October 22, 2011
PubMed

Insights

Elevated galectin-3 levels in heart failure patients correlate with disease severity. While initially predictive of outcomes, this association diminishes when considering other established heart failure predictors like NTproBNP.

Area of Science:

  • Cardiology
  • Biomarkers
  • Clinical Trials

Background:

  • Galectin-3, a soluble lectin released by cardiac macrophages, is elevated in heart failure.
  • Higher galectin-3 levels are linked to adverse outcomes in heart failure patients.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To evaluate the association between galectin-3 and long-term clinical outcomes in ambulatory heart failure patients.
  • To assess the prognostic value of galectin-3 in the context of other heart failure severity markers.

Main Methods:

  • Analysis of baseline plasma samples from 895 patients in the HF-ACTION trial.
  • Utilized Cox proportional hazards models to assess the relationship between galectin-3 and clinical outcomes.
  • Adjusted for multiple clinical predictors of heart failure severity.

Main Results:

  • Higher galectin-3 levels correlated with increased heart failure severity (NYHA class, creatinine, NTproBNP) and reduced functional capacity (VO2 max).
  • Unadjusted analysis showed galectin-3 predicted hospitalization-free survival.
  • Multivariable analysis revealed that galectin-3's prognostic significance was attenuated by other predictors, particularly NTproBNP.

Conclusions:

  • Galectin-3 is elevated in ambulatory heart failure patients and associated with disease severity and functional capacity.
  • Galectin-3 demonstrated univariate predictive value for long-term outcomes.
  • The prognostic impact of galectin-3 was not independent of other established predictors, especially NTproBNP.
Abstract

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