Objective To analyze the relationship between the serum levels of Galectin-3 (Gal-3), heart-type cytoplasmic fatty acid binding protein (H-FABP) and postoperative recurrence of modified labyrinth ablation combined with mitral valvuloplasty in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) complicated with mitral regurgitation.

Methods Ninety-nine hospitalized patients with AF complicated with mitral regurgitation were selected as the combination group, 102 patients with AF during the same period were selected as the AF group, and 100 healthy subjects were selected as the control group. The serum levels of Gal-3 and H-FABP in three groups were determined by ELISA, and the risk factors affecting postoperative recurrence in the combined group were analyzed. The predictive value of serum Gal-3 and H-FABP in postoperative recurrence in the combined group was analyzed by ROC curve.

Results The serum levels of Gal-3 and H-FABP in the AF group and combined group were higher than those in control group (P ＜ 0.05), and the serum levels of Gal-3 and H-FABP in the combined group were also higher than those in AF group (P ＜ 0.05). In the combined group, the LVEF in patients with postoperative recurrence was lower than that in patients without recurrence (P ＜ 0.05), and the serum levels of Gal-3 and H-FABP in patients with postoperative recurrence were higher than those in patients without recurrence (P ＜ 0.05 and P ＜ 0.01). The results of multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that the high levels of Gal-3 and H-FABP were the independent risk factors of postoperative recurrence in the combined group (P ＜ 0.01). The AUC of the serum Gal-3, H-FABP and their combination in predicting postoperative recurrence were 0.766, 0.820 and 0.886, respectively.

Conclusions The serum levels of Gal-3 and H-FABP in patients with AF complicated with mitral regurgitation are high, and both are helpful in the diagnosis of the recurrence of patients after modified labyrinth by radiofrequency ablation combined with mitral valvuloplasty.