title: Utilization of galectin-3 in case management across the spectrum of heart failure.
abstract: In patients with heart failure as a result of mechanical and neurohormonal derangements, macrophages secrete galectin-3, which is a paracrine and endocrine factor that stimulates additional macrophages, pericytes, myofibroblasts, and fibroblasts to proliferate and secrete procollagen I, which is irreversibly crosslinked to form fibrotic collagen. Normal plasma concentrations of galectin-3 are < 11.0 ng/mL. Galectin-3 measured in blood has been shown to predict the development of all-cause mortality and heart failure in the general population, identify increased risk for de novo heart failure and progressive loss of renal filtration function in healthy middle-aged adults, predict cardiac failure in patients after acute coronary syndromes, help establish the diagnosis of heart failure with preserved ejection fraction in patients presenting with effort intolerance, and aid in the prognosis of both systolic and nonsystolic heart failure for the outcomes of hospitalization and death. This article presents case discussions of these applications to highlight the importance of galectin-3 measurement across the spectrum of patients at risk for cardiorenal disease.
authors.affiliation: Baylor University Medical Center, Baylor Heart and Vascular Institute, Baylor Jack and Jane Hamilton Heart and Vascular Hosital, Dallas, TX, The Heart Hospital, Plano TX.
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: McCullough
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, University Medical Center Groningen, University of Groningen, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Rudolph A
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: de Boer
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, University of Göttingen, German Center for Cardiovascular Research, Göttingen Division of Cardiology, Germany.
authors.forename: Frank
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Edelmann
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN.
authors.forename: Connie M
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Lewis
authors.affiliation: San Diego Veterans Affairs Medical Center, San Diego, CA.
authors.forename: Alan S
authors.initials: AS
authors.lastname: Maisel