Abstract
Introduction. Soluble suppression of tumorigenicity 2 (sST2) and galectin-3 are considered markers of myocardial hypertrophy and fibrosis. Changes in their concentrations are observed in cardiovascular diseases, including arterial hypertension.
The aim. To determine threshold values of hypertrophy and fibrosis biomarkers, namely sST2 and galectin-3, in patients with arterial hypertension.
Materials and methods. A prospective study was conducted on 82 patients with arterial hypertension (AH). Patients were stratified into two groups based on left ventricular mass index (LVMI) values: Group 1 with left ventricular hypertrophy (LVMI > 115 g/m² for men and 90 g/m² for women, n=33) and Group 2 with normal LVMI values (n=27).
Results. Patients with left ventricular hypertrophy exhibited significantly elevated sST2 and galectin-3 levels. Direct correlations were observed between LVMI and sST2 values (r=0.6397; p=0.000) and galectin-3 (r=0.5113; p=0.001). Both biomarkers correlated with various cardiac parameters, including interventricular septal thickness at end-diastole, left atrial diameter, left ventricular end-diastolic diameter, and posterior wall thickness at end-diastole (specifically with sST2). With a selected sST2 value of 17.0 ng/ml, the diagnostic method demonstrated 88.33% accuracy, 92.59% specificity, 93.3% positive predictive value, and 83.33% negative predictive value for hypertrophy. At the chosen galectin-3 level of 29.0 ng/ml, the proposed method achieved 72.22% accuracy, 73.68% sensitivity, 70.59% specificity, 73.68% positive predictive value, and 70.59% negative predictive value.
In conclusion, measuring sST2 and galectin-3 biomarkers facilitates the evaluation of left ventricular hypertrophy, serving as an additional tool in assessing cardiac dysfunction and indicating diverse developmental pathways.