Anyfanti P, et al. - In patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), a disease accompanied by high cardiovascular risk, researchers investigated the correlation, if any, of galectin-3 with markers of vascular fibrosis, subclinical atherosclerosis, and cardiac function. Participants were RA and non-RA individuals. Applanation tonometry, carotid ultrasound, and impedance cardiography were performed in these subjects to obtain markers of arterial stiffness, subclinical atherosclerosis, and myocardial function, respectively. Using the Framingham Heart Study, cardiovascular risk was estimated. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay was used to measure serum levels of galectin-3. Based on the findings, serum galectin-3 might has utility as a marker of cardiac function and cardiovascular fibrosis in a relatively well-controlled cohort of RA patients with low-grade systemic inflammation and long-standing disease.