Galectin 3 and Galectin 3 Binding Protein Improve the Risk Stratification after Myocardial Infarction

BACKGROUND Acute myocardial infarction (AMI) survivors are at risk of major adverse cardiac events and their risk stratification is a prerequisite to tailored therapeutic approaches. Biomarkers could be of great utility in this setting. METHODS We sought to evaluate the utility of the combined assessment of Galectin 3 (Gal-3) and Galectin 3 binding protein (Gal-3bp) for post-AMI risk stratification in a large, consecutive population of AMI patients. The primary outcomes were: Recurrent angina/AMI and all-cause mortality at 12 months after the index event. RESULTS In total, 469 patients were included. The median Gal-3bp was 9.1 μg/mL (IQR 5.8-13.5 μg/mL), while median Gal-3 was 9.8 ng/mL (IQR 7.8-12.8 ng/mL). During the 12 month follow-up, 34 patients died and 41 had angina pectoris/reinfarction. Gal-3 was associated with all-cause mortality, while Gal-3bp correlated with the risk of angina/myocardial infarction even when corrected for other significant covariates. The final multivariable model for mortality prediction included patients' age, left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF), Gal-3, and renal function. The ROC curve estimated for this model has an area under the curve (AUC) of 0.84 (95%CI 0.78-0.9), which was similar to the area under the ROC curve obtained using the GRACE score 1-year mortality. CONCLUSIONS The integrated assessment of Gal-3 and Gal-3bp could be helpful in risk stratification after AMI.