Muscle mass measurement on DEXA predicts mortality in cardiac surgery patients: Study

Aayushi Joshi, Centre for Clinical Epidemiology, Jewish General Hospital, Montreal, QC, and colleagues determined the prevalence and prognostic value of sarcopenia measured by DXA and physical performance tests in patients undergoing coronary artery bypass surgery or heart valve procedures.

The researchers prospectively enrolled adults undergoing cardiac surgery. They completed a questionnaire, physical performance battery, and a DXA scan (GE Lunar) to measure appendicular muscle mass indexed to height2 (AMMI). Based on European Working Group 2 guidelines, they were categorized as sarcopenic if they had low AMMI defined as <7 kg/m2 for men or <5.5 kg/m2 for women, and low muscle strength defined as 5 chair rise time ≥15 seconds.

 The cohort consisted of 141 patients with a mean age of 69.7 ± 10.0 years and 21% females. 

Sarcopenia (DXA-based low muscle mass and low muscle strength) is a valuable prognostic indicator of all-cause mortality after cardiac surgery, concluded the authors. 

Reference:

The study titled, "Sarcopenia in cardiac surgery: Dual X-ray absorptiometry study from the McGill frailty registry," is published in the American Heart Journal.

DOI: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0002870321001101