Pulmonary Hypertension Death Rates Linked to Protein Levels

A recent study has found that the protein galectin-3 may be linked with higher death rates in pulmonary hypertension (PH) patients. Galectin-3, created by white blood cells called macrophages, is directly involved in the scarring and inflammation of tissue and can lead to fibrosis in the lungs of PH patients.

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The research involved 76 patients of which 39 had a form of pulmonary hypertension called heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF-PH) and 37 who had pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH). The levels of galectin-3 were measured in each of the participants and the researchers then put the patients into three groups depending on the levels of the protein found—low, medium and high.

The death rate of patients increased significantly in each group with the low-level group having a death rate of 17.6 percent, the medium level 30.4 percent, and the high level 52.2 percent. Find out more about this study here. 

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