Galectin-3 in Predicting Mortality of Heart Failure: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Background In recent years, galectin-3, an inflammatory marker, has been demonstrated to be closely related to cardiac fibrosis and heart failure. The purpose of this systematic review and meta-analysis is to define galectin-3 in predicting mortality of heart failure. Methods PubMed, Embase, and the Cochrane Library were searched. A total of 1540 studies were identified, and of these studies, 19 involving 9217 patients were included in our meta-analysis. Results The diagnostic hazard ratios of galectin-3 in predicting mortality in chronic heart failure patients was 1.13 (95% CI,:1.07-1.21 ) and 2.17 (95% CI:1.27-3.08) in acute heart failure (HF) patients. Conclusions Our meta-analysis shows that elevated levels of galectin-3 are associated with higher mortality in both acute and chronic heart failure patients.