title: Body mass, chronic heart failure, surgery and survival.
abstract: Cardiac cachexia, associated with excessive activation of the sympathetic nervous system together with immune activation, is an important prognostic indicator in heart failure. Anecdotally, the prevalence of cardiac cachexia appears to be falling, perhaps due to the increased use of beta-blockers. However, chronic heart failure is so common that many patients continue to lose weight and continue to deteriorate to a point where transplantation or mechanical support is considered. The origin of cachexia remains elusive and further research is needed to explore the relation between weight, sympathetic activation, and the response to cardiac surgery or transplantation.
authors.affiliation: Department of Academic Cardiology, Castle Hill Hospital, Hull, UK. a.l.clark@hull.ac.uk
authors.forename: Andrew L
authors.initials: AL
authors.lastname: Clark
authors.forename: Stefan D
authors.initials: SD
authors.lastname: Anker
mesh_terms: D015992:Body Mass Index; D002100:Cachexia / Q000209:etiology / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000628:therapy; D002908:Chronic Disease; D006333:Heart Failure / Q000150:complications / Q000401:mortality* / Q000601:surgery*; D016027:Heart Transplantation; D006353:Heart-Assist Devices; D006801:Humans; D007107:Immune System / Q000503:physiopathology; D018579:Patient Selection; D011379:Prognosis; D015996:Survival Rate; D013564:Sympathetic Nervous System / Q000503:physiopathology