Evidence mapPaperPMID 41874605Full record

ArticleClinical research in cardiology : official journal of the German Cardiac Society2026

Revisiting the obesity paradox in patients with heart failure with reduced ejection fraction in the light of contemporary guideline-directed medical therapy.

Tamás G Gergely, Zsolt Forrai, Ádám Kazay, Pál Péter Schäffer, Máté Vámos, Dávid Pilecky, Tamás Péter Füzesi, Laura Fanni Hanuska, Noémi Nyolczas, Miklós Dékány and 4 more

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Article in Clinical research in cardiology : official journal of the German Cardiac Society, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

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1 · What the graph read from it

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5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

14 authors.

Tamás G GergelyDepartment of Adult Cardiology, Gottsegen National Cardiovascular Center, Budapest, 1096, Hungary. tamas.gergely@gokvi.hu.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-1972-2065
Zsolt ForraiDepartment of Adult Cardiology, Gottsegen National Cardiovascular Center, Budapest, 1096, Hungary.
Ádám KazayDepartment of Adult Cardiology, Gottsegen National Cardiovascular Center, Budapest, 1096, Hungary.
Pál Péter SchäfferDepartment of Adult Cardiology, Gottsegen National Cardiovascular Center, Budapest, 1096, Hungary.
Máté VámosDepartment of Internal Medicine, Cardiology Center, University of Szeged, Szeged, 6725, Hungary.
Dávid PileckyDepartment of Adult Cardiology, Gottsegen National Cardiovascular Center, Budapest, 1096, Hungary.
Tamás Péter FüzesiDepartment of Cardiology, Central Hospital of Northern Pest-Military Hospital, Budapest, 1134, Hungary.
Laura Fanni HanuskaDepartment of Adult Cardiology, Gottsegen National Cardiovascular Center, Budapest, 1096, Hungary.
Noémi NyolczasDepartment of Cardiology, Central Hospital of Northern Pest-Military Hospital, Budapest, 1134, Hungary.
Miklós DékányDepartment of Cardiology, Central Hospital of Northern Pest-Military Hospital, Budapest, 1134, Hungary.
Péter AndrékaDepartment of Adult Cardiology, Gottsegen National Cardiovascular Center, Budapest, 1096, Hungary.
Zsolt PiróthDepartment of Adult Cardiology, Gottsegen National Cardiovascular Center, Budapest, 1096, Hungary.
Fanni Bánfi-Bacsárdi *Department of Adult Cardiology, Gottsegen National Cardiovascular Center, Budapest, 1096, Hungary.
Balázs Muk *Department of Adult Cardiology, Gottsegen National Cardiovascular Center, Budapest, 1096, Hungary.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundThe presence of higher body mass index (BMI) accompanied by better outcomes in patients with heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF) is described as the obesity paradox. However, recent evidence has questioned the existence of this phenomenon by adjusting for better prognostic factors and using superior anthropometric measures of obesity. Nevertheless, data regarding the association between BMI and mortality in HFrEF patients with the use of contemporary guideline-directed medical therapy (GDMT), including SGLT2is, is scarce.

aimTo assess the association between BMI and mortality in patients with HFrEF treated with modern GDMT across a wide BMI spectrum. PATIENTS AND

methodsThe data of 420 consecutive patients (male sex: 75%, age: 62 [51-71] years, NT-proBNP at admission: 5678 [2647-10501] pg/mL, LVEF: 24 [20-30] %, coronary artery disease: 44%, atrial fibrillation: 45%, normal weight: 33% [group 1: BMI < 25 kg/m

resultsAt hospital discharge, triple therapy (TT: RASi + βB + MRA) was applied in 82% (RASi: 92%, βB: 85%, MRA: 95%), while quadruple therapy (QT: TT + SGLT2i) was implemented in 58% of the total cohort (SGLT2i use: 64%). At discharge, higher BMI category was significantly (p < 0.05) associated with increased use of MRA (group 1, 2, 3: 93%, 92%, and 100%), SGLT2i medications (group 1, 2, 3: 58%, 61%, and 71%), and QT (group 1, 2, 3: 51%, 56%, and 65%). During a median follow-up of 534 days, ACM was lower with increasing BMI subgroup category (p = 0.021). In the multivariate analysis, BMI subgroup category was not associated with ACM, whereas age, T2D, peripheral artery disease, NT-proBNP at discharge, and use of QT at discharge were independent predictors of ACM. In the sensitivity analysis, no significant differences were seen in the ACM of each BMI category after PSM.

conclusionsIn a consecutive cohort of patients hospitalised due to HFrEF with high rates of modern GDMT use across a wide BMI spectrum, higher BMI subgroup category was not associated with better survival after adjustment for comorbidities and prognostic factors.

Indexed as

Heart FailureObesityObesity ParadoxStroke VolumeVentricular Function, LeftAgedBody Mass IndexFemaleHumansMaleMiddle AgedPractice Guidelines as TopicPrognosisRetrospective StudiesRisk FactorsSurvival RateGuideline-directed medical therapyHeart failureObesityObesity paradox

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.