Obesity burden among heart failure patients in an urban safety net hospital: Implications for GLP-1 agonist therapy

Abstract

Introduction

Novel obesity medications (glucagon-like peptide-1 [GLP-1] agonists) show promise for treatment of patients with obesity and heart failure (HF), especially with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF). However, data are limited regarding the burden of obesity among HF patients in real-world samples.

Methods

We conducted a retrospective electronic medical record-based query of HF patients at a single urban safety net hospital system.

Results

In 1373 patients (mean age 67 ± 14 years, 59 % women) admitted for acute HF (563 [41 %] with HFpEF, 649 [47 %] with reduced ejection fraction, and 161 [12 %] without ejection fraction assessment), up to 64 % met eligibility criteria GLP-1 agonists compared with 42 % of control patients admitted for non-HF diagnoses. This was primarily driven by higher obesity prevalence.

Discussion

The majority of HF patients at an urban safety net hospital are eligible for GLP-1 agonist medications; allocation of these medications to a large patient population represents a major public health challenge.