Clinical Importance of Protein Intake in Hospitalized Elderly Patients With Heart Failure

• Published in: Circulation Reports Vol. 7; no. 1; pp. 47 - 54
• Main Authors: Miyata, Hiroyo, Matsumura, Koichiro, Takase, Toru, Sugimoto, Keishiro, Funauchi, Yohei, Yagi, Eijiro, Yoshida, Ayano, Kajihara, Katsumi, Iwanaga, Takashi, Amagai, Teruyoshi, Nakazawa, Gaku
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Japan The Japanese Circulation Society 10.01.2025
• Subjects: Elderly; Heart failure with reduced ejection fraction; Malnutrition; Nutrition; Original; Malnutrition; Elderly; Heart failure with reduced ejection fraction
• ISSN: 2434-0790; 2434-0790
• DOI: 10.1253/circrep.CR-24-0067

Background: The relationship between protein intake and the long-term prognosis of elderly patients with heart failure remains poorly understood. We investigated the association between predischarge protein intake and long-term prognosis in hospitalized elderly patients with heart failure.Methods and Results: A single-center, retrospective analysis of hospitalized patients aged ≥65 years with heart failure and reduced ejection fraction was conducted. Protein intake was evaluated by nutritionists based on visual measurements of the percentage of dietary intake obtained for 7 days before discharge by a nurse. A cutoff of 1.2 g/kg/day protein intake was used to compare the incidence of a composite endpoint, including all-cause mortality and heart failure rehospitalization within 1 year. Among the 100 patients (median age 79 years; 47% male), 56% had low protein intake (<1.2 g/kg/day). Patients with low protein intake had a significantly higher rate of composite endpoints than those with high protein intake (50% vs. 20%; log-rank test P=0.03). Multivariable Cox proportional hazards model revealed that low protein intake was independently associated with long-term prognosis with a hazard ratio of 2.73 and a 95% confidence interval of 1.10–6.80 (P=0.03).Conclusions: Low protein intake in the predischarge phase was associated with long-term prognosis in hospitalized elderly patients with heart failure and reduced ejection fraction.