Clinical outcomes in overweight heart transplant recipients

Background: Few studies have examined the impact of patient weight on heart transplant (HT) outcomes. Objectives: Nine outcomes were compared in 2 groups of HT recipients (N = 347) based on their mean body mass index (BMI) during the first 3 years post-HT. Methods: Group 1 consisted of 108 non-overweight patients (BMI <25; mean age 52; 29.6% females; 16.7% minorities). Group 2 consisted of 239 overweight patients (BMI ≥25; mean age 52; 15.9% females; 13.8% minorities). Outcomes were: survival, re-hospitalization, rejections, infections, cardiac allograft vasculopathy (CAV), stroke, renal dysfunction, diabetes, and lymphoma. Results: Non-overweight patients had shorter survival, were re-hospitalized more days after the HT discharge, and had more lymphoma and severe renal dysfunction. Overweight patients had more CAV, steroid-induced diabetes, and acute rejections. Conclusions: Overweight HT patients had better survival, but more rejections, CAV, and diabetes. Non-overweight HT patients had worse survival, plus more re-hospitalization time, lymphoma, and renal dysfunction.