Background: The association of obesity on outcomes in patients with cardiogenic shock requiring acute mechanical circulatory support has not been thoroughly investigated. Methods: We evaluated the National Readmission Database for adults with either acute myocardial infarction or heart failure complicated by cardiogenic shock requiring acute mechanical circulatory support between January 2016 and November 2017. Exposure was assessed using International Classification of Diseases , Tenth Revision codes for the degree of obesity with the reference being body mass index (BMI) of 20.0 to 29.9 group. Multiple logistic regression and Cox regression analysis were used to analyze in-hospital mortality and 30-day readmission, respectively. Results: The survey-weighted sample included a total of 35 555 hospitalizations with a mean age of 65.4±0.2 years and 29.8% females. Obesity was associated with higher in-hospital mortality (no obesity, 26.4% [BMI, 20.0–29.9] versus class I obesity, 25.0% [BMI, 30.0–34.9] versus class II obesity, 28.7% [BMI, 35.0–39.9] versus class III obesity, 34.9% [BMI, ≥40]; P <0.001). On stratified analysis, compared with a nonobese phenotype, younger adults (age <60) with class II and class III obesity (odds ratio, 1.9 [95% CI, 1.1–3.5], P =0.02; odds ratio, 2.1 [95% CI, 1.2–3.7], P =0.01) and older adults (age ≥60) with class III obesity (odds ratio, 1.7 [95% CI, 1.2–2.4], P =0.005) had higher mortality. There was no association between the degree of obesity and 30-day readmission. Conclusions: Among adults with acute myocardial infarction or acute heart failure resulting in cardiogenic shock requiring acute mechanical circulatory support, younger adults with class II and class III obesity and older patients with class III obesity have a higher risk of in-hospital mortality compared with nonobese patients.

Patients older than 65 years hospitalized with COVID-19 have higher rates of intensive care unit admission and death when compared with younger patients. Cardiovascular conditions associated with COVID-19 include myocardial injury, acute myocarditis, cardiac arrhythmias, cardiomyopathies, cardiogenic shock, thromboembolic disease, and cardiac arrest. Few studies have described the clinical course of those at the upper extreme of age. We characterize the clinical course and outcomes of 73 patients with 80 years of age or older hospitalized at an academic center between March 15 and May 13, 2020. These patients had multiple comorbidities and often presented with atypical clinical findings such as altered sensorium, generalized weakness and falls. Cardiovascular manifestations observed at the time of presentation included new arrhythmia in 7/73 (10%), stroke/intracranial hemorrhage in 5/73 (7%), and elevated troponin in 27/58 (47%). During hospitalization, 38% of all patients required intensive care, 13% developed a need for renal replacement therapy, and 32% required vasopressor support. All-cause mortality was 47% and was highest in patients who were ever in intensive care (71%), required mechanical ventilation (83%), or vasopressors (91%), or developed a need for renal replacement therapy (100%). Patients older than 80 years old with COVID-19 have multiple unique risk factors which can be associated with increased cardiovascular involvement and death.

Objectives To assess the causes and predictors of readmission after NSTEMI. Background Studies on readmissions following non‐ST elevation myocardial infarction (NSTEMI) are limited. We investigated the rate and causes for readmission and the impact of coronary revascularization on 90‐day readmissions following a hospitalization for NSTEMI in a large, nationally representative United States database. Methods We queried the National Readmission Database for the year 2016 using appropriate ICD‐10‐CM/PCS codes to identify all adult admissions for NSTEMI. We determined the 90‐day readmissions for major adverse cardiac events (MACE). All‐cause readmission was a secondary endpoint. The association between coronary revascularization and the likelihood of readmission was analyzed using multivariate Cox regression analysis. Results A total of 296,965 adult discharges following an admission for NSTEMI were included in this study. The rate of readmissions for MACE was 5.2% (n = 15,637) and for any cause was 18.0% (n = 53,316). 38% of MACE readmissions and 40% of all‐cause readmissions occurred between 30‐ and 90‐days following the index hospitalization. During index hospitalization, 51.0% underwent coronary revascularization (40.8% with PCI and 10.2% with CABG). This was independently predictive of a lower risk of 90‐day readmission for MACE (adjusted HR 0.59, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.56–0.63, p < .001) and for any cause (adjusted HR 0.65, 95% CI 0.63–0.67, p < .001). In‐hospital mortality for MACE readmissions was significantly higher compared to that of index hospitalization (3.8% vs. 2.6%, p < .001). Conclusion Readmissions following NSTEMI carry higher mortality than the index hospitalization. Coronary revascularization for NSTEMI is associated with a lower readmission rate at 90 days.