Abstract

Background: Several diagnostic and prognostic biomarkers are being explored in heart failure. GDF-15 belongs to the transforming growth factor (TGF-) cytokine family that is highly up regulated in inflammatory conditions. We undertook this systematic review to summarize the current evidence on the utility of GDF-15 as a biomarker in heart failure.

Design and Methods: Multiple electronic databases for studies that reported the association between GDF- 15 and heart failure were searched using different electronic databases such as MEDLINE, Science Direct, Springer Link, Scopus, Cochrane Reviews, and Google Scholar using pre-defined inclusion- exclusion criteria.

Results: Twenty one original studies were identified that included data from 20,920 study participants. GDF 15 was found to be a strong prognosticator of all-cause mortality in heart failure patients. Several studies found the benefit of using GDF-15 as a component of a multi-biomarker strategy in prognosticating patients with heart failure. Conclusion: More studies are warranted to elucidate the molecular pathways involving GDF-15 and to see how knowledge about GDF-15 can be used to make therapeutic decisions in the clinic.

Keywords: All-cause mortality, cardiac biomarker, GDF -15, heart failure, novel biomarker, prognosis.

Graphical Abstract