Many studies show the association between malnutrition and poor prognosis in heart failure (HF) patients. Our research aimed to analyse sex differences in patients with HF with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF), emphasizing nutritional status and the influence of selected parameters on the prognosis. We enrolled 276 consecutive patients diagnosed with HFrEF. Nutritional status was assessed using Mini Nutritional Assessment (MNA), geriatric nutritional risk index (GNRI), and body mass index (BMI). The mean follow-up period was 564.4 ± 346.3 days. The analysed group included 81.2% of men. The median age was 58, interquartile range (IQR) 49–64 years. Among all patients, almost 60% were classified as NYHA III or IV. Half of the participants were at risk of malnutrition, and 2.9% were malnourished. During follow-up, 72 (26.1%) patients died. The female sex was not associated with a higher occurrence of malnutrition (P = 0.99) or nutritional risk (P = 0.85), according to MNA. Coherently, GNRI scores did not differ significantly between the sexes (P = 0.29). In contrast, BMI was significantly higher in males (29.4 ± 5.3 vs. 25.9 ± 4.7; P < 0.001). Impaired nutritional status assessed with any method (MNA, GNRI, BMI) was not significantly associated with a worse prognosis. In multivariable analysis, NYHA class, lower estimated glomerular filtration rate, higher B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP), higher N-terminal fragment of proBNP, and higher uric acid were independent of sex and age predictors of all-cause mortality. There were no sex differences in the nutritional status in the HFrEF patients, apart from lower BMI in females. Impaired nutritional status was not associated with mortality in both men and women.

Background/Objectives: Loop diuretics are among the most commonly used drugs in patients with heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF). Higher doses of these diuretics are associated with poorer clinical status and may contribute to malnutrition. The study aims to assess the relationship between the use of high-dose loop diuretics and nutritional status in patients with HFrEF. Methods: The study included 353 hospitalized patients with HFrEF. Nutritional status was assessed using the Mini Nutritional Assessment (MNA), the Geriatric Nutritional Index (GNRI), and the CONtrolling NUTritional status (CONUT). Patients were divided into three groups according to the daily dose of loop diuretics (defined as furosemide equivalent = 1 × furosemide dose and 2 × torsemide dose): low dose (LD), 40 mg/day or no treatment; medium dose (MD), 41–160 mg/day; or high dose (HD), >160 mg/day. Results: Of the evaluated patients, the mean MNA score was 23.31 ± 2.93 points, and 49.8% were at risk of malnutrition or malnourished. According to the MNA, patients in HD and MD groups had worse nutritional status than the LD group, similarly according to the GNRI. For CONUT, the differences were significant between all groups: nutritional status was the worst in the HD group, intermediate in the MD group, and the best in the LD group. Conclusions: The intake of loop diuretics, especially in high doses, correlates with an elevated risk of malnutrition in patients with HFrEF independently of sex, age, NYHA class, and left ventricular ejection fraction.

Iron deficiency (ID) impacts prognosis and quality of life for heart failure (HF) patients. It is essential to actively search for ID in this group and establish its relationship with nutritional status. The aim was to determine the relationship between nutritional status according to the Mini Nutritional Assessment (MNA) questionnaire and the presence of ID in heart failure patients with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF). The study sample comprized 272 HFrEF patients. Collected on admission were: medical history, echocardiographic and biochemical parameters. Iron deficiency was diagnosed if ferritin was < 100 ng/mL or < 300 ng/mL with transferrin saturation (TSAT) < 20%. Nutritional status was assessed using the MNA form and body mass index (BMI). The cohort was 81.6% male and 18.4% female. The median age was 59 (IQR 50-64) years, and the mean BMI was 28.8 ± 5.3 kg/m². 54.4% of patients showed New York Heart Association (NYHA) class III or IV HF symptoms. Iron deficiency was detected in 55.5% of patients. Participants at risk of malnutrition constituted 45.2%, while 1.8% were malnourished. In the ID group 45% were at risk of malnutrition and 2.6% were malnourished, compared with 45.4% (p = 1.00) and 0.8% (p = 0.39) in the no-ID group. Female sex and atrial fibrillation(AF) were associated with ID. Nutritional status assessed by the MNA questionnaire is not related to the presence of ID in HFrEF. Female sex and AF are risk factors for ID in this group.

Heart failure (HF) patients are vulnerable to a complicated course of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection. The aim of this research was to analyze the relationship between the decision not to be immunized against SARS-CoV-2, clinical, epidemiological factors and pre-pandemic health-related quality of life (HRQoL) of HF patients . Prior to the onset of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, hospitalized HF patients were enrolled as a prospective cohort and interviewed with World Health Organization Quality of Life Brief Version questionnaire. On October 30, 2021, the immunization status was verified. The association of vaccination hesitancy with epidemiological and clinical parameters, and pre-pandemic questionnaire results was tested. Subsequently, the independence from confounding factors, age, sex, New York Heart Association (NYHA) scale, and left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) was analyzed. Among 136 included patients, 77.9% were vaccinated. Unvaccinated patients were younger (51.2±13.2 vs 56.6±10.3; p=0.018) and more frequently had non-ischemic etiology of HF (73.3% vs. 46.7%; p=0.013). It was significant after adjustment for age, sex, NYHA class and LVEF. There was no association of overall HRQoL or domain scores with vaccination status. Younger age as a factor associated with vaccine avoidance in this population is consistent with data from the general population despite higher exposure to the severe course of the disease.

Introduction and objective: This study presents an analysis and summary of current research on the effects of consuming various types of fish and fish oils by healthy individuals and patients with cardiovascular diseases on lipid disorders, which constitute a significant risk factor for the...