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.

The aim: To evaluate anthropometric, hemodynamic parameters, as well as changes in blood and leptin lipid spectrum in children and adults with overweight and obesity.
Materials and methods: We examined 68 overweight children and 90 patients with obesity in combination with stage 2, grade 2 AH who were electively inpatient. The control group consisted of practically healthy individuals – 20 adults and 55 children.
Results: Obesity in childhood isaccompanied by the development of dyslipidemia, hypercholesterolemia, hyperleptinemia and hypertension, and in adulthood may be an additional risk factor for cardiovascular disease, in particular AH. According to the study, total leptin level in overweight children was significantly higher compared to the control group (p<0.01). The concentration of leptin in patients with hypertension in combination with obesity was 3 times higher compared to the control group (p<0.01)
Conclusions: Thus, obesity or overweight, accompanied by hyperleptinemia and an increase in the proatherogenic fractions of the blood lipid spectrum, is an important problem that needs to be addressed in childhood to prevent cardiovascular disease in adulthood.