Biomarker for heart failure identified

U.S. researchers say the protein galectin-3 can identify people at higher risk of heart failure -- the heart cannot pump enough blood to meet the body's needs. Study author Dr. Daniel Levy, director of the Framingham Heart Study, said the research was based on work from the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute's Framingham Heart Study, which began in 1948 to study heart disease risk factors. Galactin-3 has recently been associated with cardiac fibrosis, a condition in which scar tissue replaces heart muscle, and cardiac fibrosis plays an important role in the development of heart failure, Levy said. Early identification of those of higher heart failure risk would allow treatment to begin long before heart failure develops and could help people at high risk for heart failure to live longer, more active lives, the researchers said. Galectin-3 levels were measured in 1996 to 1998 as part of a routine examination of 3,353 participants -- average age 59. During an average follow-up of 11 years, 5.1 percent had a first heart failure event. Among the 25 percent of people with the highest galectin-3 levels the annual rate of heart failure was 12 per 1,000 people compared with 3 per 1,000 people for the 25 percent of participants with the lowest galectin-3 levels. The findings were published online in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.