Mario Leesha Fernando1 , Krithika B.2 , Santhi Silambanan3
BACKGROUND Heart failure (HF) is a serious condition in which the heart is unable to pump enough blood to meet the demands of the body. The development of HF is often a clinically silent process, with progressive cardiac remodelling eventually leading to symptomatic presentation later in the course of disease progression with high mortality rate. Natriuretic peptides (NPs) help in selecting patients at high risk for future events such as re-hospitalization which only indicate ventricular loading conditions and do not reveal other important mechanisms in HF. The use of novel markers like Galectin-3, could add information about relevant structural changes in the heart, including inflammation, fibrosis, remodelling and a possible guide for treatment. Galectin- 3 has been found to be up-regulated in the plasma of patients with acute and chronic heart failure. METHODS 80 subjects of both sexes between 20-80 years diagnosed with chronic heart failure based on Framingham criteria and left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) of ≤45% or diastolic dysfunction were selected for the study. Subjects with abnormal renal function were excluded. 80 CHF patients were divided into two groups: (i) CHF with moderate LVD (LVEF >36% and ≤45%) and (ii) CHF with severe LVD (LVEF ≤35%). Serum Galectin-3 levels were compared with BNP, clinical and echocardiographic indices of LV structural remodelling between the two groups. RESULTS Serum Galectin-3 levels were higher in the CHF patients with severe LVD (p <0.001*) compared to moderate LVD patients. Pearson’s correlation analysis showed a significant positive correlation between Galectin-3 levels and NYHA class III, IV and echocardiographic indices (LVIDD, LVIDS, LVESV, LVEDV) and significant negative correlation between LVEF and Galectin-3 levels. CONCLUSIONS Serum Galectin-3 levels being higher in CHF patients with severe LVD compared to moderate LVD and significant positive correlation between Galectin-3 levels between NYHA class III, IV and LVEDD, LVESD, LVEDV, LVESV while there is a significant negative correlation between Galectin-3 levels and LVEF, thus proving that Galectin-3 levels are closely correlated with the degree of left ventricular structural and functional remodelling in CHF patients.
