Association between obesity and heart failure symptoms in male and female patients

Relationship between BMI and prognosis of chronic heart failure outpatients in Vietnam: a single-center study

Background

Insufficient data exists regarding the relationship between body mass index (BMI) and the prognosis of chronic heart failure (CHF) specifically within low- and middle-income Asian countries. The objective of this study was to evaluate the impact of BMI on adverse outcomes of ambulatory patients with CHF in Vietnam.

Methods

Between 2018 and 2020, we prospectively enrolled consecutive outpatients with clinically stable CHF in an observational cohort, single-center study. The participants were stratified according to Asian-specific BMI thresholds. The relationships between BMI and adverse outcomes (all-cause death and all-cause hospitalization) were analyzed by Kaplan-Meier survival curves and Cox proportional-hazards model.

Results

Among 320 participants (age 63.5 ± 13.3 years, 57.9% male), the median BMI was 21.4 kg/m2 (IQR 19.5-23.6), and 10.9% were underweight (BMI <18.50 kg/m2). Over a median follow-up time of 32 months, the cumulative incidence of all-cause mortality and hospitalization were 5.6% and 19.1%, respectively. After multivariable adjustment, underweight patients had a significantly higher risk of all-cause mortality than patients with normal BMI (adjusted hazard ratios = 3.03 [95% CI: 1.07-8.55]). Lower BMI remained significantly associated with a worse prognosis when analyzed as a continuous variable (adjusted hazard ratios = 1.27 [95% CI: 1.03-1.55] per 1 kg/m2 decrease for all-cause mortality). However, BMI was not found to be significantly associated with the risk of all-cause hospitalization (p > 0.05).

Conclusion

In ambulatory patients with CHF in Vietnam, lower BMI, especially underweight status (BMI < 18.5 kg/m2), was associated with a higher risk of all-cause mortality. These findings suggest that BMI should be considered for use in risk classification, and underweight patients should be managed by a team consisting of cardiologists, nutritionists, and geriatricians.

Effect of a Home-Based Mobile Health App Intervention on Physical Activity Levels in Patients With Heart Failure: A Randomized Controlled Trial

BACKGROUND

The use of mobile health applications (apps) is an effective strategy in supporting patients' self-management of heart failure (HF) in home settings, but it remains unclear whether they can be used to reduce sedentary behaviors and increase overall physical activity levels.

AIM

The aims of this study were to determine the effect of an 8-week home-based mobile health app intervention on physical activity levels and to assess its effects on symptom burden and health-related quality of life.

METHOD

In this study, we collected repeated-measures data from 132 participants with HF (60.8 ± 10.47 years) randomized into a usual care group (n = 67) or an 8-week home-based mobile health app intervention group (n = 65). The intervention was tailored to decrease the time spent in sedentary behavior and to increase the time spent in physical activities performed at light or greater intensity levels. Physical activity levels were monitored for 2 weeks before the intervention and during the 8-week intervention using the Samsung mobile health app. Heart failure symptom burden and health-related quality of life were assessed at baseline, 2 weeks from baseline assessment, and immediately post intervention.

RESULTS

At week 8, all participants in the intervention group demonstrated an increase in the average daily step counts above the preintervention counts (range of increase: 2351-7925 steps/d). Only 29 participants (45%) achieved an average daily step count of 10 000 or higher by week 6 and maintained their achievement to week 8 of the intervention. Repeated-measures analysis of variance showed a significant group-by-time interaction, indicating that the intervention group had a greater improvement in physical activity levels, symptom burden, and health-related quality of life than the usual care group.

CONCLUSION

Home-based mobile health app-based interventions can increase physical activity levels and can play an important role in promoting better HF outcomes.

Randomized comparison of the clinical Outcome of single versus Multiple Arterial grafts: Quality of Life (ROMA:QOL) - Rationale and Study Protocol

AIMS

The objective of the Randomized comparison of the Outcome of single vs. Multiple Arterial grafts: Quality of Life (ROMA:QOL) trial is to evaluate the impact of coronary artery bypass graft surgery (CABG) on quality of life (QOL). The primary hypothesis of ROMA:QOL is that participants in the multiple arterial graft (MAG) will report time-varying changes in QOL that will be lower in the post-operative recovery period and higher after 12 months compared to patients in the single arterial graft (SAG). The secondary hypotheses are that both groups will have improvements in symptoms at 12 months, and that compared to the SAG group, participants in the MAG group will experience better physical functioning and physical and mental health symptoms.

METHODS AND RESULTS

An estimated 2111 participants will be enrolled from the parent ROMA trial from 13 countries. Outcome assessments include the Seattle Angina Questionnaire (SAQ) (primary outcome), Short Form-12v2, EuroQol-5D (EQ-5D)-5L, PROMIS-29, and PROMIS Neuropathic Pain measured at baseline, first post-operative visit, 6, 12, 24, 36, 48, and 60 months. The analysis for the primary outcome, the change in the SAQ from baseline to 12 months, will be compared across all time-points between the two treatment arms.

CONCLUSION

The ROMA:QOL trial will answer whether there are differences in QOL, physical and mental health symptoms overall for CABG, by MAG and SAG intervention arms, by sex, and between patients with and without diabetes.

Obesity and Uncontrolled Diabetes Predict Depression in HF Patients

BACKGROUND AND AIM

Heart failure (HF) is a clinical syndrome associated with poor quality of life and prognosis, and premature mortality. The aim of this study was to assess the prevalence of depression and its risk factors in HF patients.

METHODS

The study included 151 HF patients (mean age of 66.6 ± 11 years, 52.3% female). Based on ejection fraction (EF), the study cohort was divided into the following two groups: group-I: HFpEF patients (EF ≥ 50%, n = 47) and group-II: HFrEF patients (EF < 40%, n = 104). For the enrolled patients, demographic, clinic and echocardiographic indices, and depression scale results were collected.

RESULTS

The patients with HF and depression were older, mostly females, more obese, and had a higher glycemic level and higher NYHA functional class compared with the patients without depression (p < 0.05 for all). The left ventricle (LV) and left atrial (LA) dimensions were larger, and EF was lower, in patients with depression compared to those without depression (p < 0.05 for all), while the right ventricle (RV) measurements did not differ (p > 0.05). The same parameters remained significantly different when the patients were divided into HFpEF and HFrEF. The depression scale correlated with glycemic level (r = 0.51, p = 0.01), obesity (rpb = 0.53, p = 0.001), age (r = 0.47, p = 0.02), and severity of NYHA class (rpb = 0.54, p = 0.001). On a multivariate model, BMI ≥ 30 kg/m², OR 1.890 (1.199 to 3.551; 0.02) glycemic level ≥ 8.5 mmol/L, OR 2.802 (1.709 to 5.077; p = 0.01), and NYHA class > 2, OR 2.103 (1.389 to 4.700; p = 0.01), proved to be the most powerful independent predictors of depression, in the group as a whole. Obesity and uncontrolled diabetes predicted depression, irrespective of EF.

CONCLUSIONS

In this modest cohort of HF patients, obesity and uncontrolled diabetes were independent predictors of depression, irrespective of LV systolic function. This emphasizes the important role of medical education for better control of such risk factors.

Is there an association between the nutritional and functional parameters and congestive heart failure severity?

BACKGROUND & AIMS

The association between markers of nutritional status (handgrip strength [HGS] and adductor pollicis muscle thickness [APMT]) and clinical markers of congestive heart failure (CHF) severity is currently unclear. The objective of this study was to evaluate the association between HGS, APMT, as markers of nutritional status and CHF severity.

METHODS

APMT and muscle strength was measured in 500 CHF patients bilaterally. Nutritional status was assessed by Subjective Global Assessment (SGA). Functional classification was performed according to guidelines provided by the New York Heart Association (NYHA) and ejection fraction (EF) was measured to classify CHF severity. Poisson regression, adjusted for sex and age, was performed to verify the association between nutritional factors and CHF severity markers.

RESULTS

The majority of patients (75.8%) were ≥60 years old and 53.6% were either overweight or obese. SGA identified 42.2% of the patients as malnourished, 12.6% with low APMT, and 29.0% with low HGS. Most of the patients were classified as NYHA III/IV (56.8%) and almost one third of patients (31.1%) had EF ≤ 40%. HGS and APMT were significantly lower in malnourished male patients and in male patients with a lower EF or worse NYHA classification. Even after controlling for the EF, malnourished patients showed a 2.5-fold increased risk of CHF severity by NYHA classification and for each kilogram of increase in the HGS, there was a significant decrease of 2% in the risk (RR: 0.98 p < 0.001). Malnourished patients presented a 52% higher risk (RR: 1.52 p = 0.016) of having a low EF, whereas for each APMT increase, there was a 5% decrease in the risk (RR: 0.95 p < 0.001), even after controlling for NYHA classification.

CONCLUSIONS

Malnutrition is highly prevalent among patients with CHF and it is associated with the functional class and the severity of the disease. Objective markers of strength (HGS) and muscle (APMT) are independently associated with the CHF severity, assessed by NYHA classification and EF, respectively, even after adjustment for other confounding variables. Thus, the implementation of these nutritional assessment methods in hospital routines, either by SGA or by objective methods, such as HGS and APMT, can configure effective measurements for early detection of malnutrition in patients at higher risk, and possibly a way to avoid their further functional decline.

Obesity paradox in Korean male and female patients with heart failure: A report from the Korean Heart Failure Registry

BACKGROUND

Although the survival benefit of obesity has been suggested in patients with heart failure (HF), the impact of sex on obesity paradox is less clear. This study was performed to investigate whether there is a sex difference in the association between body mass index (BMI) and long-term clinical outcomes in patients hospitalized for HF.

METHOD

A total of 2616 patients hospitalized for HF (Mean age 66 years and 52% males) from the nation-wide registry database were analyzed. Patients were categorized using baseline BMI as normal (18.5 to 22.9 kg/m²), overweight (23 to 27.4 kg/m²) and obese (≥ 27.5 kg/m²). Their all-cause mortality and long-term composite events, including all-cause mortality and HF readmission, were assessed according to the BMI groups.

RESULTS

During the median follow-up period of 1499 days, there were 662 patients (25.3%) with all-cause mortality and 1071 patients (40.9%) with composite events. Compared to the normal weight group, the overweight (hazard ratio [HR], 0.71; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.51-0.99; P = 0.045) and obese (HR, 0.53; 95% CI, 0.29-0.95; P = 0.032) group showed lower all-cause mortality rates even after adjusting for confounding factors in the male patients. Otherwise, BMI was not associated with composite events in males; it was not associated with all-cause mortality or composite events in females in the multivariable analyses (P > 0.05 for each).

CONCLUSIONS

Among patients with HF, a greater BMI was associated with low all-cause mortality in males, but not in females. Obesity paradox should be considered in the management of HF patients.

Subclinical cardiac dysfunction in obesity patients is linked to autonomic dysfunction: findings from the CARDIOBESE study

Aims

Obesity doubles the lifetime risk of developing heart failure. Current knowledge on the role of obesity in causing cardiac dysfunction is insufficient for optimal risk stratification. The aim of this study was first to estimate the prevalence of subclinical cardiac dysfunction in obesity patients and second to investigate the underlying pathophysiology.

Methods and results

The CARDIOBESE study is a cross‐sectional multicentre study of 100 obesity patients [body mass index (BMI) ≥ 35 kg/m²] without known cardiovascular disease and 50 age‐matched and gender‐matched non‐obese controls (BMI ≤ 30 kg/m²). Echocardiography was performed, blood samples were collected, and a Holter monitor was affixed. Fifty‐nine obesity patients [48 (42–50) years, 70% female] showed subclinical cardiac dysfunction: 57 patients had decreased global longitudinal strain (GLS), and two patients with normal GLS had either diastolic dysfunction or increased brain natriuretic peptide (BNP). Only one non‐obese control had diastolic dysfunction, and none had another sign of cardiac dysfunction. Multivariable logistic analysis identified male gender and standard deviation of all NN intervals (SDNN) index, which is a measure of autonomic dysfunction, as independent significant risk factors for subclinical cardiac dysfunction in obesity patients.

Conclusions

There was a high prevalence (61%) of subclinical cardiac dysfunction in obesity patients without known cardiovascular disease, which appeared to be best identified by GLS. Subclinical cardiac dysfunction in obesity was linked to autonomic dysfunction and male gender, and not to the presence of traditional cardiac risk factors, increased C‐reactive protein, increased BNP, increased high‐sensitivity troponin I, or increased left ventricular mass.

Clinical significance of nutritional status in patients with chronic heart failure-a systematic review

Chronic heart failure (CHF) and nutritional disorders are recognized as major challenges for contemporary medicine. This study aims to estimate the role of nutritional disorders as risk factors for CHF development and prognostic factors for CHF patients and the outcome of nutritional intervention in CHF. Full-text English articles published between January 2013 and February 2019 available in the PubMed and Scopus databases were considered. Seventy-five prospective, retrospective, and cross-sectional studies as well as meta-analyses on patients with CHF, reporting correlation of their nutritional status with the risk and prognosis of CHF and the outcome of nutritional interventions in CHF were all included. Higher BMI increases the risk of CHF by 15-70%, especially when associated with severe, long-lasting and abdominal obesity. Overweight and obesity are associated with the reduction of mortality in CHF by 24-59% and 15-65%, respectively, and do not affect the outcome of invasive CHF treatment. Malnutrition increases the risk of mortality (by 2- to 10-fold) and the risk of hospitalization (by 1.2- to 1.7-fold). Favorable outcome of nutritional support in CHF patients was reported in a few studies. Nutritional disorders are prevalent in patients with CHF and play a significant role in the incidence, course, and prognosis of the disease. The existence of an "obesity paradox" in patients with CHF was confirmed. Further studies on the effect of nutritional support and body weight reduction in patients with CHF are necessary.

Paradoxical Prognostic Implications of Visceral Adiposity for Lethal Cardiac Events in Association with Impaired Cardiac Sympathetic Innervation in Chronic Heart Failure

Background: Obesity increases the risk for development of heart failure (HF) but, when present is likely to be related to better outcomes in patients with HF. This study aimed to clarify the paradoxical prognostic values of visceral obesity in association with cardiac sympathetic function in HF patients. Methods and Results: A total of 653 consecutive patients with systolic HF who underwent visceral adiposity area (VAA) measurements using a computed tomographic technique were divided into 3 groups: VAA 1, area <80 cm²; VAA 2, area 80-140 cm²; VAA 3, area >140 cm². Sympathetic innervation was quantified by ¹²³I-MIBG cardiac activity. Patients were followed up for an average of 22 months with a primary endpoint of lethal cardiac events (CE). The CE group (n=200) had a lower late heart-to mediastinum ratio (HMR) and a smaller VAA than those in the non-CE group. Rates of overall CE/HF death were inversely correlated with VAA: 39.2% ± 6.2% for VAA 1, 27.4% ± 19.9% for VAA 2 and 24.1% ± 15.3% for VAA 3. In addition to sudden cardiac death rate, lethal arrhythmic event rate increased in association with visceral fat obesity: 3.0% for VAA 1, 7.5% for VAA 2 and 8.8% for VAA 3. Late HMR identified high-risk sub-populations in each group. Conclusion: Visceral obesity has paradoxical prognostic implications in terms of HF mortality and lethal arrhythmic/sudden cardiac death events. Cardiac sympathetic denervation and quantitative visceral adiposity are synergistically associated with overall cardiac mortality, contributing to better risk stratification of HF patients.

Influence of depression and gender on symptom burden among patients with advanced heart failure: Insight from the pain assessment, incidence and nature in heart failure study

INTRODUCTION

Patients with advanced heart failure (HF) experience many burdensome symptoms that increase patient suffering.

METHODS

Comparative secondary analysis of 347 patients with advanced HF. Symptom burden was measured with the Memorial Symptom Assessment Scale-HF. Depression was measured using the Patient Health Questionnaire-9.

RESULTS

Mean number of symptoms was 13.6. The three most frequent symptoms were non-cardiac pain, shortness of breath, and lack of energy. Patients with depression reported higher symptom burden. Symptom burden differed when compared by gender. Women reported higher symptom burden for other pain, dry mouth, swelling of the arms and legs, sweats, feeling nervous, nausea, and vomiting. Men reported higher symptom burden with sexual problems.

CONCLUSIONS

Given the high rates of symptoms and distress, interventions are needed to alleviate the symptom burden of patients with advanced HF. Reported symptom burden in patients with advanced heart failure was higher when depressive symptoms were present. Women reported varied number and severity of symptoms than men.

Is There a Sex-Related Difference in the Obesity Paradox in Systolic Heart Failure? Sex-Related Difference in the Obesity Paradox

PURPOSE

Obesity is often associated with better clinical outcomes in heart failure (HF). This so-called obesity paradox remains controversial. The aim of present study was to investigate the prognostic value of obesity in patients hospitalized for systolic HF.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

We performed a pooled analysis of data from two multicenter, observational HF studies. Patients hospitalized for systolic HF were eligible for the present study. We divided the subjects into two groups, a normal body mass index (BMI) group and a high BMI group. Study endpoints included all-cause mortality and any re-hospitalization within 1 year.

RESULTS

We enrolled 3145 patients (male, 1824; female, 1321). The high BMI group was significantly associated with lower 1-year mortality rate [odds ratio (OR), 0.543; 95% confidence interval (CI), 0.355-0.832] after adjusting for age, hypertension, diabetes, ischemic HF, previous myocardial infarction, serum creatinine level, anemia, and ejection fraction in men. After adjustment for clinical characteristics, high BMI was not significantly associated with 1-year mortality (OR, 0.739; 95% CI, 0.450-1.216) or 1-year re-hospitalization (OR, 0.958; 95% CI, 0.696-1.319) in women.

CONCLUSION

In pooled analysis of data from two Korean HF registries, the high BMI group was independently associated with lower 1-year mortality rate from systolic HF, especially in men.