SDC1 and hydrops fetalis: In the context of assessing a relatively novel biomarker, we hypothesized that the gender and onset type of acute HF (de novo, or a decompensation of a pre-existing chronic HF) may influence the serum concentration of syndecan-1; the results refuted this hypothesis for both gender (175.2 vs. 163.1 ng/mL, p = 0.675) and the onset type of HF (197.2 vs. 192.7 ng/mL, p = 0.878) (Figure 2).