What question did this study set out to answer?

To investigate whether elevated circulating concentrations of galectin-3, an emerging biomarker of cardiac fibrosis, precede the development of heart failure and predict mortality in the community.

April 27, 2026Journal of the American College of CardiologyOpen Access

Galectin-3, a Marker of Cardiac Fibrosis, Predicts Incident Heart Failure in the Community

Q: What are the key findings of this study?

Each 1 standard deviation increase in log-Gal-3 was associated with an increased risk of incident heart failure (HR 1.28; 95% CI 1.14-1.43; P<0.0001), which remained significant after adjustment.

Q: What is the clinical evidence from this study?

Study design: Cohort. Population: Incident heart failure (n=3353). Intervention: Galectin-3 (Gal-3) concentration vs. Lower concentrations (per 1 standard deviation increase). Primary outcome: Incident heart failure (HR 1.28, 95% CI 1.14-1.43, p=<0.0001).

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Key result

Higher Gal-3 linked to ~28% increased incident HF risk per standard deviation.

HR 1.28
95% CI 1.14-1.43
P<0.0001
n=3,353

Why the study?

Whether elevated galectin-3 concentrations precede the development of heart failure in the community was unknown.

Does elevated Galectin-3 concentration predict incident heart failure in a community cohort?

Key Points

To investigate whether elevated circulating concentrations of galectin-3, an emerging biomarker of cardiac fibrosis, precede the development of heart failure and predict mortality in the community.
Measured circulating galectin-3 concentrations in 3,353 participants (mean age 59 years, 53% women) from the Framingham Offspring Cohort.
Evaluated the association between galectin-3, echocardiographic left ventricular mass, incident heart failure, and all-cause mortality over a mean follow-up of 8.1 years using proportional hazards regression.
Galectin-3 independently predicted incident heart failure (166 events; multivariable HR 1.23 per 1-SD increase in log-Gal-3, 95% CI 1.04–1.47, P=0.02) after adjustment for clinical risk factors and B-type natriuretic peptide.
Higher galectin-3 levels were associated with all-cause mortality (468 deaths; multivariable-adjusted HR 1.15, 95% CI 1.04–1.28, P=0.01).
Adding galectin-3 to standard clinical prediction models resulted in negligible changes to the c-statistic and only minor improvements in the net reclassification index.

Study Design

Type

Cohort (n=3,353)

Structured PICO

Does elevated Galectin-3 concentration predict incident heart failure in a community cohort?

Population

3,353 participants in the Framingham Offspring Cohort (mean age 59 years, 53% women) followed for a mean of 8.1 years to assess the risk of incident heart failure.

Exposure

Galectin-3 (Gal-3) concentration measurement

Outcome

Incident heart failure (HF)hard clinical

Main Result

Hazard Ratio: 1.28 (95% CI 1.14–1.43)

p-value: p=<0.0001

Discussion

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Implication

Higher concentrations of Galectin-3 are independently associated with an increased risk of incident heart failure and all-cause mortality in the community.

Cite This Study

Ho et al. (2012) conducted a cohort in Incident heart failure (n=3,353). Galectin-3 (Gal-3) concentration vs. Lower concentrations (per 1 standard deviation increase) was evaluated on Incident heart failure (HR 1.28, 95% CI 1.14-1.43, p=<0.0001). Each 1 standard deviation increase in log-Gal-3 was associated with an increased risk of incident heart failure (HR 1.28; 95% CI 1.14-1.43; P<0.0001), which remained significant after adjustment.

synapsesocial.com/papers/69efd2c1b8a53e2a171bc989 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jacc.2012.04.053

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Implication

Higher concentrations of Galectin-3 are independently associated with an increased risk of incident heart failure and all-cause mortality in the community.

Galectin-3, a Marker of Cardiac Fibrosis, Predicts Incident Heart Failure in the Community

Key Points

Study Design

Structured PICO

Main Result

Discussion

Implication

Cite This Study

Galectin-3, a Marker of Cardiac Fibrosis, Predicts Incident Heart Failure in the Community

Key Points

Study Design

Structured PICO

Main Result

Discussion

Implication

Cite This Study

Also Consider

Also Consider