GDF15 and metabolic disease: Recent publications point to the significant and consistent association of growth and differentiation factor 15 (GDF-15) with several inflammation-mediated conditions and metabolic diseases, including T2DM, obesity, and HTN [24,25], and to the increased risk of CVD [26,27], in particular atrial fibrillation, CAD, MI, and cardioembolic stroke [28,29,30].