Cardiac Remodelling and Fibrosis in Cardiomyopathy: Role of Galectin-3

This thesis provides a comprehensive investigation on the contribution of heart scarring, known as cardiac fibrosis, to remodelling and impaired function of the heart. It highlights a relationship between the presence of cardiac fibrosis and severity of irregular heartbeats, and demonstrated the complex role of a molecule called ‘galectin-3’ in the pathogenesis of fibrosis and remodelling in cardiomyopathy. The thesis provides new mechanisms for elevation of galectin-3 blood levels that is invaluable for clinical use of galectin-3 as a predictor of heart disease. Collectively, these works have advanced our understanding of cardiac fibrosis and galectin-3 in heart disease.