The Relationship of Dehydration and Body Mass Index With the Occurrence of Atrial Fibrillation in Heart Failure Patients

Anna Chuda; Marcin Kaszkowiak; Maciej Banach; Marek Maciejewski; Agata Bielecka-Dabrowa

doi:10.3389/fcvm.2021.668653

The Relationship of Dehydration and Body Mass Index With the Occurrence of Atrial Fibrillation in Heart Failure Patients

Front Cardiovasc Med. 2021 May 20:8:668653. doi: 10.3389/fcvm.2021.668653. eCollection 2021.

Authors

Anna Chuda^{1

2}, Marcin Kaszkowiak³, Maciej Banach^{1

2}, Marek Maciejewski⁴, Agata Bielecka-Dabrowa^{1

2}

Affiliations

¹ Heart Failure Unit, Department of Cardiology and Congenital Diseases of Adults, Polish Mother's Memorial Hospital Research Institute, Łódz, Poland.
² Department of Hypertension, Chair of Nephrology and Hypertension, Medical University of Lodz, Łódz, Poland.
³ Department of Biostatistics and Translational Medicine, Medical University of Lodz, Łódz, Poland.
⁴ Department of Cardiology and Congenital Diseases of Adults, Polish Mother's Memorial Hospital Research Institute, Łódz, Poland.

Abstract

Purpose: The aim of the study was to assess the relationship of dehydration, body mass index (BMI) and other indices with the occurrence of atrial fibrillation (AF) in heart failure (HF) patients. Methods: The study included 113 patients [median age 64 years; 57.52% male] hospitalized due to HF. Baseline demographics, body mass analysis, echocardiographic results, key cardiopulmonary exercise test (CPET) parameters, 6 min walk distance (6MWD) and Kansas City Cardiomyopathy Questionnaire (KCCQ) score were assessed. Results: Of all patients, 23 (20.35%) had AF, and 90 (79.65%) had sinus rhythm (SR). Patients with AF were older (med. 66 vs. 64 years; p = 0.039), with higher BMI (32.02 vs. 28.51 kg/m²; p = 0.017) and percentage of fat content (37.0 vs. 27.9%, p = 0.014). They were more dehydrated, with a lower percentage of total body water (TBW%) (45.7 vs. 50.0%; p = 0.022). Clinically, patients with AF had more often higher New York Heart Association (NYHA) class (III vs. II; p < 0.001), shorter 6MWD (median 292.35 vs. 378.4 m; p = 0.001) and a lower KCCQ overall summary score (52.60 vs. 73.96 points; p = 0.002). Patients with AF had significantly lower exercise capacity as measured by peak oxygen consumption (peak VO2) (0.92 vs. 1.26 mL/min, p = 0.016), peak VO2/kg (11 vs. 15 mL/kg/min; p < 0.001), and percentage of predicted VO2max (pp-peak VO2) (62.5 vs 70.0; p=0.010). We also found VE/VCO2 (med. 33.85 vs. 32.20; p = 0.049) to be higher and peak oxygen pulse (8.5 vs. 11 mL/beat; p = 0.038) to be lower in patients with AF than in patients without AF. In a multiple logistic regression model higher BMI (OR 1.23 per unit increase, p < 0.001) and higher left atrial volume index (LAVI) (OR 1.07 per unit increase, p = 0.03), lower tricuspid annular plane systolic excursion (TAPSE) (OR 0.74 per unit increase, p =0.03) and lower TBW% in body mass analysis (OR 0.90 per unit increase, p =0.03) were independently related to AF in patients with HF. Conclusion: Increased volume of left atrium and right ventricular systolic dysfunction are well-known predictors of AF occurrence in patients with HF, but hydration status and increased body mass also seem to be important factors of AF in HF patients.

Keywords: atrial fibrillation; body mass index; dehydration; heart failure; risk factors.