Weight Gain Linked to Heart Failure Admissions
< Sep.
12, 2007 > -- Short-term weight gain
can signal worsening outcomes for heart failure
patients, a new study shows.
Patients who gain as little as
two pounds over the course of a few weeks or less
may require hospitalization within the month, according
to heart researchers. Changes in weight may be related
to fluid build-up that occurs as a result of heart
failure.
Heart failure occurs
when the heart cannot pump enough blood to meet
the body's
needs. Coronary artery disease, high blood pressure,
scarring from previous heart attacks, and heart defects
can all lead to heart failure.
Heart failure patients who gain
over 10 pounds are eight times more likely than heart
failure patients with stable weights to need hospitalization.
The study, published in Circulation,
suggests that patients and their doctors may have
several days or even weeks to control weight gain
and avoid hospitalizations.
The Yale University research team
analyzed weight data and hospitalization records
from 268 heart failure patients who were weighing
themselves daily as part of a disease management
program. The average age of the patients was 74.
The researchers compared the data from half of the
patients who were hospitalized with the half who
were not.
The analysis showed
that the hospitalized patients had gained more
weight than their peers
in the month before hospitalization. In the week just
prior to hospitalization, weight increased rapidly.
For heart failure patients, a rapid increase
in weight can be due to fluid retention.
According to the Heart
Failure Society of America, fluid retention
is a common problem among people who have heart
failure and can be treated with medication
and dietary changes to help get rid of excess fluid
and the associated pounds.
Doctors have known for some time
that weight increase may be a sign of worsening heart
failure, but the impact of the timing and amount
of weight gain on hospitalization has not been studied
before, the researchers say.
"We found that even small amounts
of weight gain - as small as just over two pounds
- predict hospitalization," lead author Dr. Sarwat
Chaudhry, assistant professor of medicine at Yale
University School of Medicine in New Haven, Conn.,
says. "We found that weight gain starts well before
hospitalization, giving doctors and patients at least
a few days to take steps to avoid the need for hospitalization."
People who gained an average of
two to five pounds in the week before hospitalization
were almost 3 times more likely to need hospitalization
than heart failure patients with stable weight. Those
who gained five to 10 pounds were 4.5 times more
likely to need hospitalization, and those who gained
over 10 pounds were almost eight times more likely
to require hospitalization for heart failure.
"Heart failure is the most common
reason for hospitalization among Americans, and more
Medicare dollars are spent for heart failure than
for any other diagnosis," Dr. Chaudhry says. "Our
data suggest that a simple bathroom scale could empower
patients in managing their own disease and alert
their physicians to early signs of heart failure
decompensation (the failure of the heart to maintain
adequate blood circulation). Ultimately, our data
may help change the standard of care to prevent patients
from being hospitalized, improve their quality of
life, and save precious health care resources."
Always consult your physician
for more information. |
