Background/Introduction: The correlation between low body mass index (BMI) and congestive heart failure
(obesity paradox) has been described in the literature; However, the association between BMI and
clinical outcome measures is not well characterized. Little is known about CHF in the Middle Eastern
female population; most of the gender-specific information on heart failure comes from higher income
‘‘Western” countries.
Objectives: We aimed to identify the correlation between heart failure patients especially those with low
BMI and clinical/safety outcome measures with focusing on female patients subgroup characteristics.
Methods: We performed group comparisons of statistically relevant variables using prospectively collected
data of HFrEF patients hospitalized over a 12 month period.
Results: The 167 patients (Group I) enrolled by this study with mean age of 59.64 ± 12.9 years, an EF score
of 23.96 ± 10.14, 62.9% had ischemic etiology, 12.5% were smoker, 18% had AF, 31.1% had received ICD/
CRT-D and an estimated 8.85 ± 9.5 days length of stay (LOS). The low BMI group of patients (Group II)
had means age of 58.7 ± 14.5 years, a significant lower EF score of 20.32 ± 8.58, significantly higher
30, 90 days readmission rates and in-house mortality (22%, 36.6% and 17.1% vs 10.2%, 20.4% and 6.6%
respectively) and higher rates of CVA, TIA and unexplained syncope (19.5% vs 7.2%). Similarly, female
patients with low BMI (Group IV) had lower EF score of 22.0 ± 53, higher 30,90 days readmission rates
and in-house mortality (34.4%,43.8% and 25% vs 13.5%,21.6% and 5.4% respectively) and higher rates of
CVA, TIA and unexplained syncope(10% vs 0%).
Conclusion: Our findings showed that heart failure patients with low BMI had poor adverse clinical outcome
measures (poor EF, recurrent readmission, mortality and composite rates of CVA, TIA and unexplained
syncope) which reflect the effect of obesity paradox in those patients with HFrEF. Female
patient subgroup showed similar characteristic findings which also might reflect the value of genderspecific
BMI related clinical outcomes. |
