BNP and obesity in acute decompensated heart failure with preserved vs. reduced ejection fraction: The Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities Surveillance Study

Umair Khalid, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, United States
Lisa Miller Wruck, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, United States
Pedro Miguel Quibrera, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, United States
Biykem Bozkurt, Michael E. DeBakey VA Medical Center, Houston, TX, United States
Vijay Nambi, Michael E. DeBakey VA Medical Center, Houston, TX, United States
Salim S. Virani, Michael E. DeBakey VA Medical Center, Houston, TX, United States
Hani Jneid, Michael E. DeBakey VA Medical Center, Houston, TX, United States
Sunil Agarwal, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, United States
Patricia P. Chang, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, United States
Laura Loehr, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, United States

Issue is not provided by the author/publisher. |This work was published before the author joined Aga Khan University.

Abstract

Background: Levels of B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP), a prognostic marker in patients with heart failure (HF), are lower among HF patients with obesity or preserved Left Ventricular Ejection Fraction (LVEF). We examined the distribution and prognostic value of BNP across BMI categories in acute decompensated heart failure (ADHF) patients with preserved vs. reduced LVEF.
Methods: We analyzed data from the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) HF surveillance study which sampled and adjudicated ADHF hospitalizations in patients aged ≥55years from 4 US communities (2005-2009). We examined 5 BMI categories: underweight (<18.5kg/m2), normal weight (18.5-<25), overweight (25-<30), obese (30-<40) and morbidly obese (≥40) in HF with preserved LVEF (HFpEF) and reduced LVEF (HFrEF). The outcome was 1-year mortality from admission. We used ANCOVA to model log BNP and logistic regression for 1-year mortality, both adjusted for demographics and clinical characteristics.
Results: The cohort included 9820 weighted ADHF hospitalizations (58% HFrEF; 42% HFpEF). BNP levels were lower in HFpEF compared to HFrEF (p<0.001) and decreased as BMI increased within the LVEF groups (p<0.001). After adjustment for covariates, log10 BNP independently predicted 1-year mortality (adjusted OR 1.62 (95% CI 1.17-2.24)) with no significant interaction by BMI or LVEF groups.
Conclusions: BNP levels correlated inversely with BMI, and were higher in HFrEF compared to HFpEF. Obese patients with HFpEF and ADHF had a significant proportion with BNP levels below clinically accepted thresholds. Nevertheless, BNP was a predictor of mortality in ADHF across groups of BMI in HFpEF and HFrEF