Correlation between severity of obesity and mortality in cardiogenic shock

Area of Science:

• Cardiology
• Critical Care Medicine
• Obesity Research

Background:

• Cardiogenic shock (CS) has high mortality rates despite advancements in treatment and risk stratification.
• Obesity is a cardiovascular disease risk factor but is not currently integrated into CS risk assessment tools.
• Existing data on obesity and CS mortality is limited to specific patient subsets, lacking a clear link to obesity severity in all-cause CS.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the association between increasing body mass index (BMI) and mortality in patients experiencing all-cause cardiogenic shock.
• To determine if obesity classification correlates with increased mortality risk in CS patients.

Main Methods:

• A retrospective analysis of 72 patients hospitalized with CS and available BMI measurements between 2014 and 2019.
• Patients were categorized based on obesity classifications.
• Multivariate logistic regression was employed to assess the relationship between obesity levels and 30-day mortality.

Main Results:

• Patients who did not survive CS had a higher mean BMI (33.7 ± 7.6 kg/m²) compared to survivors (29.7 ± 8 kg/m²), with statistical significance (p=0.04).
• An increased obesity classification was associated with a 1.6-fold higher odds of mortality (95% CI 1.1 - 2.6, p=0.03), even after adjusting for CS etiology and other mortality factors.

Conclusions:

• Elevated BMI is associated with increased mortality risk in patients with cardiogenic shock.
• The severity of obesity, indicated by BMI, should be considered in the risk stratification of CS patients for improved clinical management.