Table 1. Clinical characteristics according to galectin-3 levels.
| All patients (n=148) | Upper quartile GAL-3>22.5 ng/mL (n=36) | Lower quartiles GAL-3≤22.5 ng/mL (n=112) | p-value | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age (years) | 54.8±12.7 | 63±9.3 | 52.2±12.6 | <0.001 | |
| Male gender (%) | 88 (59.5) | 20 (55.6) | 68 (61.3) | 0.54 | |
| NYHA class (%) | |||||
| I | 63 (42.6) | 11 (30.6) | 51 (46) | 0.12 | |
| II | 59 (39.9) | 15 (41.7) | 44 (40) | ||
| III | 26 (17.6) | 10 (28.8) | 16 (14.4) | ||
| IV | 0 | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | ||
| Etiology (%) | |||||
| Idiopathic | 67 (45.3) | 13 (36.1) | 54 (48.6) | 0.38 | |
| Hypertensive | 25 (16.9) | 7 (19.4) | 18 (16.2) | ||
| Alcoholic | 18 (12.2) | 4 (11.1) | 14 (12.6) | ||
| Chagas disease | 7 (4.7) | 3 (8.3) | 4 (3.6) | ||
| Valvular | 4 (2.7) | 2 (5.6) | 2 (1.8) | ||
| Other | 27 (18.2) | 7 (19.5) | 19 (17.1) | ||
| Physical examination | |||||
| SBP (mmHg) | 119.3±21.6 | 122.6±22.5 | 118.1±21.3 | 0.28 | |
| DBP (mmHg) | 74.7±12.7 | 74.6±13 | 74.8±12.8 | 0.95 | |
| Laboratory tests | |||||
| Hemoglobin (g/dL) | 13.4±1.6 | 12.6±1.9 | 13.6±1.4 | 0.008 | |
| Lymphocytes (/mm³) | 2099.2±848 | 1825±787 | 2193±852 | 0.02 | |
| Creatinine (mg/dL) | 1.1±0.73 | 1.6±1.1 | 1.0±0.4 | 0.002 | |
| Sodium (mEq/L) | 140±2.8 | 140±2.9 | 140±2.8 | 0.86 | |
| Potassium (mEq/L) | 4.6±0.4 | 4.6±0.4 | 4.6±0.3 | 0.82 | |
| Uric acid (mg/dL) | 7.5±2.2 | 8.6±2.4 | 7.1±2.1 | <0.001 | |
| Glucose (mg/dL) | 118±49.6 | 117.5±40.3 | 118.4±52.6 | 0.92 | |
| Total cholesterol (mg/dL) | 180.6±42.6 | 188.4±42.6 | 177.3±41 | 0.16 | |
| LDL (mg/dL) | 104.7±37.2 | 110.5±37.6 | 102.3±36.8 | 0.26 | |
| Galectin-3 (ng/mL) | 19±9.4 | 31.6±10.7 | 14.9±10.7 | <0.001 | |
| BNP (pg/mL) | 116.4 (59.7–295) | 158 (77–289) | 106.6 (53–298) | 0.30 | |
| NT-proBNP (pg/mL) | 1145 (392–2590) | 4776 (1549–15852) | 741 (314–2291) | 0.005 | |
| Echocardiography | |||||
| LVEF (%) | 27.4±7.5 | 27.3±7.6 | 27.4±7.5 | 0.97 | |
| Left atrium (mm) | 47.3±6.6 | 48.7±7 | 46.9±6.4 | 0.15 | |
| LVEDD (mm) | 67.5±10.2 | 65.3±7 | 68.2±11 | 0.13 | |
| LVESD (mm) | 58.7±10.1 | 56.6±8.5 | 59.4±10.6 | 0.15 | |
| EKG | |||||
| Atrial fibrillation | 22 (14.9) | 8 (22) | 14 (12.6) | 0.16 | |
| LBBB | 60 (40.8) | 18 (50) | 42 (37.8) | 0.46 | |
| 24-hour Holter monitoring | |||||
| NSVT (%) | 54 (36.5) | 12 (33.3) | 42 (38.5) | 0.57 | |
| NSVT>8 beats | 11 (7.4) | 1 (8.3) | 9 (21.4) | 0.54 | |
| Cardiopulmonary exercise testing | |||||
| Peak VO2 (mL/kg/min) | 18±5.1 | 14.7±4.3 | 19±4.9 | <0.001 | |
| VE/VCO2 slope | 41.5±11.7 | 44.3±12.5 | 40.8±11.5 | 0.14 | |
| EPB (%) | 26 (17.5) | 3 (8.3) | 23 (20.5) | 0.14 | |
| EPS (%) | |||||
| No induction | 129 (87.2) | 34 (94.4) | 94 (84.7) | 0.10 | |
| SMVT | 10 (6.8) | 0 | 10 (9) | ||
| SPVT | 5 (3.4) | 1 (2.8) | 4 (3.6) | ||
| Ventricular fibrillation | 3 (2) | 0 | 3 (2.7) | ||
| HV interval (ms) | 52.6±10.4 | 54.2±11.3 | 52.2±10.1 | 0.34 | |
| Medication | |||||
| Beta-blocker (%) | 144 (97.3) | 36 (100) | 107 (96.4) | 0.57 | |
| ACEi or ARB (%) | 144 (97.3) | 32 (88.9) | 111 (99.1) | 0.003 | |
| Spironolactone (%) | 103 (69.6) | 21 (58.3) | 82 (73.9) | 0.07 | |
| Digoxin (%) | 121 (81.8) | 31 (86.1) | 90 (81.1) | 0.49 | |
| Antiarrhythmic drug (%) | 8 (5.4) | 1 (2.8) | 7 (6.3) | 0.41 | |
Data expressed as mean±standard deviation, median (Q1–Q3), or absolute numbers (percentage). GAL-3: galectin-3; NYHA: New York Heart Association; SBP: systolic blood pressure; DBP: diastolic blood pressure; LDL: low-density lipoprotein; BNP: B-type natriuretic peptide; NT-proBNP: N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide; LVEF: left ventricular ejection fraction; LVEDD: left ventricular end-diastolic diameter; LVESD: left ventricular end-systolic diameter; EKG: electrocardiography; NSVT: non-sustained ventricular tachycardia; VO2: oxygen consumption; VE/VCO2 slope: ventilatory efficiency; EPB: exercise periodic breathing; EPS: electrophysiological study; SMVT: sustained monomorphic ventricular tachycardia; SPVT: sustained polymorphic ventricular tachycardia; ACEi: angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor; ARB: angiotensin II receptor blocker; LBBB: left bundle branch block.