Galectin-3 as Early Detector of Heart Failure in Children with Congenital Acyanotic Heart Disease

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Heart failure (HF) is a common disease with complex pathophysiological causes. Diagnosis, risk assessment and treatment of HF are difficult and therefore there is a need for additional tools to improve clinical performance. Galectin-3 is a biomarker of inflammation and fibrosis, which is strongly associated with adverse remodeling and ventricular dysfunction. AIM: To evaluate the value of galectin-3 for prediction of HF among children with congenital heart diseases with left to right shunt. METHODS: Sixty congenital heart disease (CHD) children with left to right shunt were included. Thirty of them have heart failure (Ross II, III) and 30 patients without HF. In addition to 30 age and sex matched healthy children as a control group. Serum levels of galectin-3 in all cases and control subjects were determined. We investigated the correlation between galectin-3, Ross functional classification and echocardiographic finding. RESULTS: Levels of galectin-3 were 2.06±1.01 ng/ml & 1.14±0.84 ng/ml in patients with and without HF respectively, and 0.21±0.09 ng/ml in the control group. Galectin-3 was significantly higher in patients developed HF than those without HF (p<0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Galectin-3 is a promising novel cardiac biomarker which could reflect the progression of ventricular remodeling and allow early identification of HF.