title: The obesity paradox in elderly obese patients undergoing coronary artery bypass surgery.
abstract: We sought to determine whether the protective role of the 'obesity paradox' was present among elderly obese patients undergoing coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) by median sternotomy. We retrospectively analyzed 1909 consecutive patients who underwent heart surgery between January 2006 and June 2009, and identified 396 patients who were ≥ 70 years of age and had isolated CABG. Subjects were divided into three groups according to their body mass index (BMI): obese (BMI ≥ 30 kg/m(2)), overweight (BMI 25-29.99 kg/m(2)) and normal (BMI 18.5-24.99 kg/m(2)). Of the 396 patients, 94 were obese, 167 were overweight, and 135 had a normal BMI. The composite of in-hospital complications and hospital mortality did not differ between the groups. Re-exploration for bleeding was required in none of the obese patients, which was statistically significant (P=0.05) compared to the other groups; otherwise there was no statistical difference for all other complications, including total length hospital stay and length of stay in the intensive care unit. Despite being labeled as higher risk candidates preoperatively, obese elderly patients undergoing CABG did not demonstrate an increased risk of postsurgical complications. We conclude that the 'obesity paradox' is present in this population, and they should not be excluded from receiving the benefits of CABG.
authors.affiliation: Division of Cardiology at Mount Sinai Medical Center, Columbia University, Miami Beach, FL 33140, USA.
authors.forename: George
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Le-Bert
authors.forename: Orlando
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Santana
authors.forename: Andrés M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Pineda
authors.forename: Carlos
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Zamora
authors.forename: Gervasio A
authors.initials: GA
authors.lastname: Lamas
authors.forename: Joseph
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Lamelas
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D015992:Body Mass Index; D001026:Coronary Artery Bypass; D003327:Coronary Disease / Q000150:complications / Q000601:surgery*; D005260:Female; D017052:Hospital Mortality / Q000639:trends; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D007902:Length of Stay / Q000639:trends; D008297:Male; D009765:Obesity / Q000150:complications* / Q000453:epidemiology; D015995:Prevalence; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D018570:Risk Assessment / Q000379:methods*; D012307:Risk Factors; D015996:Survival Rate / Q000639:trends; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology