Relationship between Galectin-3 levels and severity of coronary artery disease in ST elevation myocardial infarction.

BACKGROUND: Galectin-3 is a new biomarker assumed to reflect fibrogenesis and inflammation. We aimed to investigate the relation of Gal-3 with the severity of coronary artery disease in patients with ST elevation myocardial infarction. METHODS: The prospective study enrolled 62 patients with ST elevation myocardial infarction who underwent coronary angiography. The burden of atherosclerosis was assessed by the number of involved vessels, the number of coronary lesions with a stenosis diameter more than 50% and the Gensini score. Gal-3 levels were measured on admission on miniVIDAS (BioMérieux). RESULTS: The mean age of the patients was 56±11 years old; 93.5% were males. Diabetes, hypertension and hyperlipidemia were respectively 29%, 35.5% and 24.2%. Among patients, 80.6% were active smokers. Mean level of Gal-3was 17±11 ng/ml and didn't differ significantly from the number of involved coronary vessels (p=0.82) and the Gensini score (p=0.4). There was a positive correlation between the number of coronary lesions with a stenosis diameter greater than 50% and Gal-3 (p=0.04). CONCLUSION: In patient with ST elevation myocardial infarction we found a positive correlation between the number of coronary stenosis and Gal-3 level.