Sarcopenia and health related quality of life in older adults after Transcatheter aortic valve replacement

Abstract Background Skeletal muscle wasting, or sarcopenia, affects a significant proportion of patients undergoing TAVR. However, its influence on post-TAVR recovery and one-year health-related quality of life (HR-QOL) remains unknown. We examined the relationship between skeletal muscle index (SMI), post TAVR length of hospital stay (LOS), and one-year QOL. Methods The study sample consisted of 300 consecutive patients undergoing TAVR from 2012–2018 who had pre-TAVR CT scans suitable for analysis of body composition. Skeletal muscle mass was quantified as cm2 of skeletal mass per m2 of body surface area from the cross-sectional CT-image at the third lumbar vertebra. Sarcopenia was defined using established sex-specific cutoffs (Women: SMI Results Sarcopenia was present in the majority (59%) of patients and associated with older age (82 vs 76 years; P  Conclusion Sarcopenia is prevalent in TAVR patients. Higher SMI is associated with shorter LOS and better 1-year HR-QOL. To achieve optimal TAVR benefits, further study into how body composition influences post-TAVR recovery and durable improvement in QOL is warranted.