Impact of Handgrip Strength on Clinical Outcomes after Percutaneous Coronary Intervention

Aim: The relationship between handgrip strength (HGS) and clinical outcomes after percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) has not yet been thoroughly investigated. Methods: This was a single-center, observational study. A total of 469 patients who underwent PCI and whose periprocedural HGS was measured were included. Patients were divided into two groups: the low HGS group (men, ＜28 kg; women, ＜18 kg) and the high HGS group (men, ≥ 28 kg; women, ≥ 18 kg). The primary outcome was the composite endpoint of all-cause death, myocardial infarction (MI), and heart failure readmission. Results: There were 151 patients in the low HGS group and 318 patients in the high HGS group. The age of patients in the low HGS group was significantly higher (median [interquartile range]: 78 [71–82] vs. 70 [61–75] years,p＜0.001), while the body mass index and serum albumin level were significantly lower (body mass index: 22.5 [20.2–24.3] vs. 24.3 [22.3–26.6] kg/m(2),p＜0.001; serum albumin: 3.6 [3.1–3.9] vs. 4.0 [3.7–4.3] g/dL,p＜0.001) than those in the high HGS group. During the median follow-up period of 778 days, the low HGS group had a higher incidence of composite endpoint than the high HGS group (p＜0.001). The low HGS group had a higher risk of all-cause, cardiac, and non-cardiac death (p＜0.001). Multivariable Cox proportional hazards analysis showed that low handgrip strength was an independent predictor for the composite endpoint (hazard ratio 1.80, 95% confidence interval 1.04–3.12,p=0.04). Conclusions: Low HGS was independently associated with adverse outcomes after PCI.