Destination therapy: One-year outcomes in patients with a body mass index greater than 30

Laura A. Coyle, Mickey S. Ising, Colleen Gallagher, Geetha Bhat, Sudha Kurien, Michael A. Sobieski, Mark S. Slaughter

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

35 Scopus citations

Abstract

Left ventricular assist devices (LVADs) are slowly gaining acceptance as the treatment of choice in appropriately selected patients with end-stage heart failure who are not transplant candidates. Obesity is a well-known risk factor for increased cardiovascular morbidity and mortality, and frequently can be the reason some patients are turned down for heart transplantation. Because of this experience in transplant patients, many centers have also been reluctant to offer these patients an LVAD for destination therapy (DT). Subsequently, the 1-year outcomes of obese patients receiving LVADs for DT at our center were reviewed. Fifty-eight consecutive patients (83% men) were implanted with HeartMate XVE (n = 22) or HeartMate II (n = 36) LVAD. Patients were divided into normal (body mass index BMI ≤ 30 kg/m2, n = 38) and obese (BMI ≥ 30 kg/m2, n = 20) groups according to their BMI. Preoperatively, there were statistically significant differences (P < 0.05) between normal and obese groups in age (65.9 years vs. 54.7 years), weight (72.9 kg vs. 107.5 kg), BMI (24.1 kg/m2 vs. 35.2 kg/m2), and incidence of diabetes (37% vs. 60%). At 1-year follow-up, there were no statistically significant differences (P > 0.5) between normal and obese groups: creatinine levels (1.4 vs. 1.5), New York Heart Association classification (1.2 vs. 1.6), and survival (63% vs. 65%). Our initial results demonstrate that morbidly obese patients with end-stage heart failure with a contraindication for transplant may successfully undergo implantation of an LVAD for DT.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)93-97
Number of pages5
JournalArtificial organs
Volume34
Issue number2
DOIs
StatePublished - Feb 2010

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • Bioengineering
  • Medicine (miscellaneous)
  • Biomaterials
  • Biomedical Engineering

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