Effect of Overweight and Obesity on Cardiovascular Events in Asymptomatic Aortic Stenosis

Objectives

This study investigated whether overweight and obesity impacted outcome in patients with aortic valve stenosis (AS).

Background

Increased body mass index (BMI) is a strong predictor of higher cardiovascular (CV) morbidity and mortality in the general population but not among patients undergoing heart surgery.

Methods

Cardiovascular events in 1,664 patients with initially asymptomatic AS were recorded during a mean of 4.3 years of follow-up in the SEAS (Simvastatin Ezetimibe in Aortic Stenosis) study. Patients were grouped according to baseline BMI class.

Results

Overweight (n = 737) and obese patients (n = 334) had higher prevalence of hypertension, more abnormal left ventricular geometry, and lower stress-corrected midwall shortening throughout the study compared with normal weight patients (all p < 0.01). The AS progression rate did not differ between BMI classes. In univariate Cox regression, overweight was associated with a 17% to 22% lower rate of AS-related (p = 0.04) and ischemic CV events (p = 0.05). In multivariate analyses, adjusting for AS severity and differences in baseline characteristics, overweight had no significant influence on the rate of ischemic CV or AS-related events, whereas overweight and obesity had 46% and 67% higher rate of total mortality and 42% and 69% higher rate of combined hospital stay for heart failure and death from any cause, respectively, compared with normal weight patients (all p < 0.05).

Conclusions

In patients with initially asymptomatic AS participating in the SEAS study, overweight and obesity did not influence AS progression or rate of AS-related or ischemic CV events but were both associated with increased mortality.