Relation of body mass index to late survival after valvular heart surgery.

Limited data have suggested that an "obesity paradox" exists for mortality and cardiovascular outcomes in patients undergoing coronary artery bypass grafting. Much less is known about the role of the preoperative body mass index (BMI) in patients undergoing valve surgery. We evaluated 2,640 consecutive patients who underwent valve surgery between April 2004 and March 2011. The patients were classified by the World Health Organization standards as "underweight" (BMI 11.5 to 18.4 kg/m(2), n = 61), "normal weight" (BMI 18.5 to 24.9 kg/m(2), n = 865), "overweight" (BMI 25 to 29.9 kg/m(2), n = 1,020), and "obese" (BMI 30 to 60.5 kg/m(2), n = 694). Mortality was ascertained using the Social Security Death Index. Hazard ratios (HRs), adjusted for known preoperative risk factors, were obtained using Cox regression models. The mean follow-up was 31.9 ± 20.5 months. The long-term mortality rate was 1.21, 0.52, 0.32, and 0.44 per 10 years of person-time for underweight, normal, overweight, and obese patients, respectively. Compared to the normal BMI category, overweight patients (adjusted HR 0.60, 95% confidence interval 0.46 to 0.79, p <0.001) and obese patients (adjusted HR 0.67, 95% confidence interval 0.50 to 0.91, p = 0.009) were at a lower hazard of long-term all-cause mortality. Underweight patients remained at a greater adjusted risk of long-term mortality than normal weight patients (adjusted HR 1.69, 95% confidence interval 1.01 to 2.85, p = 0.048). Similar patterns of mortality outcomes were noted in the subset of patients undergoing isolated valve surgery. In conclusion, overweight and obese patients had greater survival after valve surgery than patients with a normal BMI. Very lean patients undergoing valve surgery are at a greater hazard for mortality and might require more rigorous preoperative candidate screening and closer postoperative monitoring.

Midterm benefits of preoperative statin therapy in patients undergoing isolated valve surgery.

BACKGROUND: Recent data have suggested that statins are associated with reduced early mortality and cardiovascular events after valvular heart surgery. The midterm effects of preoperative statin therapy in the setting of valvular heart surgery are presently unclear. METHODS: All patients (n=2,120) who underwent a valvular procedure between April 2004 and April 2010 were identified. Patients undergoing concomitant coronary artery bypass graft surgery were excluded. Two patient groups were studied: those who received preoperative statin therapy (n=663; 31.3%) and those who did not (n=1,457; 68.7%). Propensity score matching resulted in 381 matched pairs, thus addressing baseline risk imbalances. Thirty-day mortality, readmission rates, postoperative complications, and length of stay were analyzed. Late survival was ascertained by the Social Security Death Index. RESULTS: In the matched group, 30-day mortality was 1.3% (5 of 381) for statin-treated patients versus 4.2% (16 of 381) for statin-untreated patients (p=0.03). After a mean follow-up of 33±23 months, statin therapy was associated with significantly reduced mortality (hazard ratio 0.63, 95% confidence interval: 0.43 to 0.93, p=0.019), independent of known cardiac risk factors. Weighted log rank tests revealed that the mortality difference between the two cohorts occurred early after surgery (p=0.015). Statin users were less likely to be readmitted to the intensive care unit (3.4% versus 8.1%, p=0.01). There were no other significant differences between the two groups in terms of postoperative complications and length of stay. CONCLUSIONS: Preoperative statin administration is associated with early reductions in mortality among patients undergoing isolated valvular heart surgery, leading to improved late survival. Future prospective analyses are warranted to optimize statin therapy in this patient population.

Perioperative statin therapy reduces mortality in normolipidemic patients undergoing cardiac surgery.

OBJECTIVE: Statins might have pleiotropic effects, independent of their ability to reduce lipid levels. Recent data have suggested that statins improve early survival and cardiovascular outcomes after coronary artery bypass graft surgery. The effectiveness of statin therapy in normolipidemic cardiac surgery patients is as yet unclear. METHODS: We evaluated 3056 consecutive patients who had undergone cardiac surgery between April 2004 and April 2009. Perioperative statin therapy was defined as continued treatment both before (≥ 6 months) and after the index surgery (included as a discharge medication). Hyperlipidemia (HL) was defined as a total cholesterol level greater than 200 mg/dL within 6 months before surgery. Four groups were analyzed: (1) statin-untreated normolipidemic (NL-, n = 1052); (2) statin-treated normolipidemic (NL+, n = 206); (3) statin-untreated hyperlipidemic (HL-, n = 638); and (4) statin-treated hyperlipidemic (HL+, n = 1160) patients. Adjusted hazard ratios accounted for the known preoperative cardiac risk factors. Mortality was ascertained by retrospective database review and the Social Security Death Index. RESULTS: The mean follow-up was 2.2 years. The crude rate of 30-day mortality was 3.0% (32/1052), 0% (0/206), 8.0% (51/638), and 0.7% (8/1160) for the NL-, NL+, HL-, and HL+ groups, respectively. The overall all-cause crude mortality rate was 9.6% (101/1052), 3.9% (8/206), 17.2% (110/638), and 6.5% (75/1160) for the NL-, NL+, HL-, and HL+ groups, respectively. Statin therapy for NL patients undergoing cardiac surgery independently reduced the overall all-cause mortality (adjusted hazard ratio, 0.34; 95% confidence interval, 0.16-0.71; P = .004). CONCLUSIONS: Perioperative statin therapy was associated with reduced mid-term mortality for patients undergoing cardiac surgery, irrespective of their baseline lipid status. This clinical evidence suggests that the beneficial effects of statins might extend beyond their lipid-lowering ability.