Published online Oct 26, 2022. doi: 10.12998/wjcc.v10.i30.10956
Peer-review started: May 5, 2022
First decision: July 29, 2022
Revised: August 9, 2022
Accepted: September 9, 2022
Article in press: September 9, 2022
Published online: October 26, 2022
Processing time: 168 Days and 6.5 Hours
Cardiogenic shock continues to be a highly morbid complication that affects around 7%-10% of patients with acute myocardial infarction or heart failure. Similarly, obesity has become a worldwide epidemic.
Despite intense research on the outcomes of cardiogenic shock, it is still unclear how obesity affects the outcomes of patients with cardiogenic shock.
We aimed to compare mortality outcomes of patients with cardiogenic shock based on body mass index (BMI).
A systematic search of the literature was conducted on the databases of PubMed, Embase, ScienceDirect, CENTRAL, and Google Scholar for all types of studies comparing mortality outcomes of patients with cardiogenic shock based on BMI.
Five studies were eligible for inclusion. On pooled analysis of multivariable-adjusted ratios, we noted a statistically significantly reduced risk of mortality in overweight/obese vs normal patients with cardiogenic shock (three studies; OR = 0.92, 95%CI: 0.85-0.98, I2 = 85%). In meta-analysis, we also noted that crude mortality rates did not significantly differ between overweight/obese and normal patients after cardiogenic shock (OR = 0.95, 95%CI: 0.79-1.15, I2 = 99%). The results were not stable on sensitivity analysis and were associated with substantial heterogeneity.
Based on the current review, we found that the association between overweight/obesity and mortality after cardiogenic shock is scarce and conflicting. The obesity paradox might exist in patients with cardiogenic shock but could be confounded by the use of mechanical circulatory support.
Given the scarce number of studies available, there is a need for further research on the impact of obesity on outcomes of cardiogenic shock. Future studies should be prospective with a large sample size and also assess the impact of mechanical circulatory support on the outcomes.