Sympathetic overactivation predicts body weight loss in patients with heart failure

Neurohumoral activation is frequently observed in chronic heart failure (HF) patients who develop body weight (BW) loss. We therefore hypothesized that sympathetic overactivation can predict progression of BW loss in HF patients with reduced ejection fraction. We prospectively evaluated BW loss in 108 non-edematous HF in whom muscle sympathetic nerve activity (MSNA) was measured. Follow-up began on the day of first MSNA measurement. Patients with BW loss of ≥5% of baseline BW during the first year of follow-up were considered to be experiencing BW loss. Maximal BW loss (%) and time to first BW loss (i.e., ≥5%) were assessed. Primary cardiovascular endpoints included cardiovascular death and HF hospitalization. Predictors of outcomes were assessed on univariate, multivariate, and Kaplan-Meier analyses. BW loss ≥5% occurred in 14% of enrolled patients. Mean MSNA was significantly higher in the BW loss group than in the no-BW loss group (80 versus 58 bursts/100 beats; p < 0.001). Moreover, multivariate Cox proportional hazard regression analysis revealed MSNA as the only independent predictor of BW loss. Multiple linear regression analysis identified MSNA as the strongest independent marker of maximal BW loss, even after adjusting for univariate predictors. BW loss, MSNA and several variables also correlated significantly with poor outcomes in univariate analyses. However, multivariate analysis only showed MSNA and NYHA III/IV as independent prognostic predictors, while BW loss did not predict prognosis. MSNA offered the most sensitive marker of BW loss in HF patients, but MSNA, not BW loss, was an independent predictor of poor outcome.