BMI higher than 25 linked with better outcomes in TAVR
Research by lead author Alharbi et al. published in Current Problems in Cardiology, "Body Mass Index and Outcomes of Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement: A Retrospective Observational Study", has concluded that Despite similar in-hospital mortality across BMI groups, having a BMI of 25 or greater improves immediate outcomes following TAVR.
Previous data have mentioned much about BMI's influence on Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement (TAVR). In the present research article, researchers studied the relationship between BMI and various clinical outcomes following TAVR procedures using a large cohort of patients who underwent TAVR.
The team identified patients who underwent TAVR in 2020. ICD-10-PCS codes identified TAVR cases. The final sample had 77319 TAVR hospitalizations and was categorized into five groups based on BMI.
The study results could be summarised as follows:
- There was no significant difference in in-hospital mortality among different BMI groups than those who had normal BMI in the range of 20-24.9
- Those with a BMI of 25 or higher had a shorter duration of hospitalization than those with a normal BMI.
- Those with BMI between 30 and 39.9 had decreased hospitalization costs.
They added, "Our study highlighted the prospect of a decrease in atrial fibrillation, acute heart failure and acute kidney injury complications following TAVR in those patients who had above-normal BMI."
This study cannot establish a causal relationship between BMI and favourable outcomes after TAVR and can only provide evidence of an association. We used BMI as a surrogate measurement for body weight. Still, other weight metrics like waist circumference or waist-to-hip ratio can provide additional insight into the mechanism of this association, they wrote.
Further reading:
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0146280623002967?dgcid=raven_sd_aip_email
