Prognostic value of body mass index in the diagnosis of sudden cardiac death
Objective: to determine the value of the body mass index (BMI) in cardiovascular patients for the sudden cardiac death (SCD) prediction. Materials and methods: we analyzed the medical archives of: 1) the Federal Research Clinical Center for Specialized Types of Healthcare and Medical Technologies, the Federal Biomedical Agency of Russia (comparison group I). The study included young athletes (N=603) without cardiovascular pathology, as well as those with cardiovascular diseases diagnosed in a medical examination; 2) Thanatological Department of the Bureau of Forensic Medical Examination (comparison group II). The sample (N=30) is represented by coronary heart disease (CHD) associated SCD cases; 3) the cardiac surgery Department of the Hospital of Emergency Medical Service (comparison group III). The sample (N=81) is represented by acute coronary syndrome (ACS) cases; 4) the cardiac surgery Department of the Clinic of Rostov State Medical University (comparison group IV). The sample (N=95) is represented by CHD patients who were on routine treatment. We calculated BMI in each comparison group. Results: in comparison group I, the BMI was 22.10±1.67 kg/m2, in group II-18.7±0.45 kg/m2, in group III - 28.01±0.58 kg/m2, in group IV - 28.66±0.47 kg/m2. The calculated value of χ2 both for all groups and for their pairwise comparison was statistically significant (p<0.01), which suggests that there is a close association of obesity with an increased risk of CHD. Conclusions: the relationship between BMI and the presence of cardiovascular pathology in I comparison group (athletes) was not established. For groups II - IV, BMI is in a statistically significant association with cardiovascular pathology.